Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has laughed off speculations about his possible removal from the top post following AAP’s poor performance in the Delhi elections. His reaction came after a meeting in Delhi attended by AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, senior leader Manish Sisodia, and all Punjab MLAs, raising questions about the party’s future strategy.
The meeting at Kapurthala House in the national capital sparked political speculation, with BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa claiming that Kejriwal was planning to replace Mann by branding him “incompetent.” Sirsa, the newly elected MLA from Rajouri Garden, alleged in a video that Kejriwal was shifting the blame for AAP’s electoral failures onto Mann.
“After losing the Delhi elections, Arvind Kejriwal has called a meeting of Punjab MLAs in Delhi. Reports suggest that he is trying to remove Bhagwant Mann Ji from the CM post by branding him as incompetent. He failed to fulfill his promise of giving ₹1,000 to women, was unsuccessful in curbing drug abuse, and has worsened Punjab’s situation. Now, he wants to put all failure on Bhagwant Mann. He is making AAP Punjab MLAs say that Kejriwal is a ‘good man’ and should be made Chief Minister instead,” Sirsa claimed.
When asked about these allegations, Bhagwant Mann simply smiled and responded, “Let them say,” dismissing the claims outright. He also reaffirmed that the Punjab government was committed to fulfilling its promise of providing ₹1,000 per month to women, a key AAP election pledge.
The Chief Minister also addressed Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa’s claim that over 20 AAP MLAs in Punjab were in touch with him and might switch sides. Mann ridiculed Bajwa’s statements, saying, “Partap Bajwa has been saying this for nearly three years. Ask him to count the number of (Congress) MLAs in Delhi for the third time,” mocking the Congress’s repeated failures in Delhi elections.
Regarding Bajwa’s claim that Mann himself might quit AAP, the Punjab CM dismissed it outright. “Let them talk. We have built this party with our blood and sweat. Actually, they have a culture of switching sides… One of their leaders was beating a dhol to celebrate AAP’s defeat. Someone asked him if he was celebrating Congress’s zero score,” he said, taking a jibe at the opposition.
AAP currently holds 93 seats in the 117-member Punjab Assembly, while Congress has 16 MLAs. Despite ongoing speculation, Mann asserted that there was no internal unrest within AAP’s Punjab unit and that the meeting in Delhi was simply to discuss the party’s future course.
Speaking about the discussions in the meeting, Mann said that Arvind Kejriwal thanked AAP workers for their grassroots efforts in Delhi’s election campaign. “We worked hard in Delhi, but wins and losses are part of politics. We accept the people’s mandate and are now focused on making Punjab a model state,” he stated.
Ludhiana Central MLA Ashok Prashar also confirmed that no leadership change was discussed during the meeting. “In the meeting, Mr. Kejriwal told us we must take the party forward in Punjab. There will be no change in Punjab,” he said. Responding to Congress’s claim that AAP MLAs were in talks to defect, Prashar added, “The Congress must take care, what if the few MLAs they have come to us?”
Despite opposition claims and political speculation, AAP has firmly denied any leadership crisis in Punjab, with Bhagwant Mann standing his ground against rumors of his removal.
