Chandigarh, Nov 14: Brewing dissent hit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of next year’s Punjab Assembly polls as sitting Chamkaur Sahib MLA Charanjit Singh on Saturday revolted against being dropped from the party’s candidate list, asserting he will fight the election from the constituency at any cost.
The rebellion follows Thursday’s announcement of AAP’s second candidate list, which named former state BSP chief Jasvir Singh Garhi as the nominee for Chamkaur Sahib. While Garhi was made halqa in-charge in August following his induction into the party in January 2025, Charanjit Singh maintained he had been led to believe Garhi’s role was strictly organisational.
“I never asked the party to give any ministerial position or anything else,” Singh told PTI, recalling that he was neither adjusted anywhere after defeating Congress stalwart and former CM Charanjit Singh Channi by over 7,900 votes in 2022, nor rewarded for a corruption-free tenure. Listing development works worth crores—such as a Rs 75-crore lift irrigation project for 50 villages, a 50-bed hospital, and multiple civic facilities—Singh questioned Garhi’s ability to win the seat, noting Garhi’s previous electoral losses in 2022 and 2024.
The legislator also launched a sharp attack on the party’s top brass for shutting him out. “For the past one year, I have been seeking an appointment with the chief minister for two minutes regarding some projects in my constituency. I could not get two minutes… If an MLA does not get time, what can a common man expect,” he said, adding that a meeting request with Arvind Kejriwal has also been pending for two months. Claiming overtures from rival parties, Singh confirmed his resolve to contest the seat.
