Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, who recently defected from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with six other MPs, faces possible arrest in Punjab after two FIRs under non-bailable offences were registered against him in separate districts. The move comes just days after seven AAP Rajya Sabha members, including Pathak, Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Swati Maliwal, and Vikramjit Sahney, announced their decision to quit AAP and align with the BJP. With six of them representing Punjab, the defection meets the two-thirds threshold under the anti-defection law, shielding them from disqualification. Had the defection been individual, MPs like Chadha or Pathak would have risked losing their seats, but the collective switch ensures their positions remain secure.
In response, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann moved and won a confidence motion in the Assembly, asserting that attempts to destabilize his government had failed. Mann emphasized that the AAP’s mandate remains intact, projecting confidence that the party will secure an even stronger mandate in 2027. He accused central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI of being misused against political opponents, warning that such actions undermine constitutional values. Declaring the defected MPs as “traitors of Punjab and Punjabis,” Mann announced plans to meet President Droupadi Murmu on May 5 to raise the issue of what he termed “illegal and unlawful defection.” With 88 AAP MLAs present in the House and unanimous support for the confidence motion, Mann positioned AAP as a resilient force, insisting that the party continues to embody the trust of the people despite the defections.