Congress Sees Opportunity As Seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Join BJP Ahead Of 2027 Punjab Elections
Congress managers plans protests and strategies in Punjab to challenge AAP ahead of 2027 polls said after seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs join BJP.
Published : April 24, 2026 at 8:35 PM IST
New Delhi: After seven Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MPs announced their “merger” with the BJP, Congress sensed an opportunity about its chances in Punjab ahead of 2027 assembly elections and said it will intensify protests against the AAP government.
The Congress, which had been defeated by the AAP in the 2022 Punjab assembly polls, jumped on the opportunity and claimed that, like in Rajya Sabha, the regional party would face a split in the state as well.
“Seven of their 10 Rajya Sabha MPs are joining the BJP to boost the saffron party in the Upper House. The AAP lawmakers carried the BJP’s ideology. Hence, the transition was easy for them. The way the AAP is going, the party would split in the state as well over the coming days. These developments are going to benefit the Congress in 2027,” All India Congress Committee (AICC) Secretary in charge of Punjab Ravindra Dalvi told ETV Bharat.
The Congress managers said the state ruling party would take a hit because of several factors, the main being that the state government was being run from Delhi and many of the Rajya Sabha MPs who moved to the BJP were part of the plan.
The Congress managers further said that the AAP had come to power in 2022 by making false charges against the then grand old party government but had been exposed before the voters over the past four years due to non-fulfilment of their promises and widespread corruption. They alleged that both the AAP and the BJP were opportunist parties that were out only to get power, while the grand old party only aimed at protecting the interests of the people of Punjab.
“The AAP and BJP are both the same in their politics. The Congress alone can protect the interests of the people of Punjab. We have been fighting against the ruling party over the past four years. The AAP came to power in 2022 by levelling false charges at the then Congress government. However, the ruling party has been exposed since then due to non-fulfilment of its promises and wide-spread corruption. The Punjab government was being run from Delhi where the AAP had lost the 2025 assembly elections to the BJP. The people of Punjab are seeking a change and we will fight for them,” they said.
To do that, the party had recently appointed new district unit heads across Punjab and was conducting a training session for them in party ideology in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was expected to address the Punjab district unit heads soon in Kangra and would guide them how to carry out protests over public issues in the run up to the 2027 assembly elections.
The AICC in charge of Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel, had recently reviewed the party strategy in Punjab and had worked out a broad plan of action for the 2027 assembly elections.
“The farmers in the state are suffering. The youth want jobs. Law and order need to be tight. There are several public issues over which we will launch protest movements across the state over the coming days. Plans are also there for a statewide yatra to flag all these issues,” said Dalvi.
AICC secretary in charge of Punjab, Hina Kaware, too, said that losing seven Rajya Sabha MPs to BJP will result in political loss for AAP in Punjab. She said the Congress was prepared to face the 2027 elections and was working out its plans, keeping in mind all kinds of scenarios.
“There is a mood for change among the people. That is our driving force. Our protests over various issues have been, but they will be intensified over the coming days. We have to become the voice of the people. Drugs and law and order need special focus,” Kaware told ETV Bharat.
“This month, we are focused on toning up our organisation down to the block level. In the light of the AAP Rajya Sabha MPs moving to the BJP, ideology has become key, and we will have to identify our candidates for 2027 very carefully. Internal surveys are going on for this purpose,” she said.
"AAP will collapse like a house of cards in the state. The shift of their Rajya Sabha lawmakers to the BJP is not about ideology or Punjab’s interests. It reflects a power struggle over control and loot of the public exchequer. The working of both AAP and BJP raises serious questions over style of politics. Punjab’s resources cannot be reduced to spoils for political games,” leader of opposition in Punjab Assembly Pratap Singh Bajwa told ETV Bharat.
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