Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday turned his gun on his former party colleague Raghav Chadha and other defectors, using metaphors and obvious references to question their exit from the Aam Aadmi Party. Speaking during a special session of the Punjab Assembly, where the government tabled a confidence motion, Mann ruled out the impact of the recent defections, saying: “When a broom is used to clean dirt, some bristles come out but it does not affect the broom.”
The statement came days after seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, including Chadha, switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), dealing a huge blow to the party’s presence in the Upper House.
A vote of confidence amid political turmoil
Moving a confidence motion in the 117-member Punjab Assembly on Friday, Mann asserted that the AAP remained politically strong despite what he described as attempts to create an atmosphere of uncertainty.
“There are rumors that AAP will end and its MLAs will change its stand. Such rumors create an illusion in people’s minds,” he said, adding that the party continues to expand its presence across states, from Jammu and Kashmir to Goa.
AAP has a dominant majority in Punjab with 94 MLAs, far ahead of its rivals.
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The ‘Kothi No.50’ jibe has resurfaced
Mann’s remarks in the Assembly come on the heels of earlier barbs directly targeting Chadha, where he referred to “Kothi No. 50” – a government bungalow in Chandigarh that Chadha occupied during the early years of AAP’s Punjab.
Without mentioning his name at first, Mann said the Rajya Sabha MP was “feeling suffocated” in the AAP and had enjoyed the “fruits of power” while staying at his residence, which was widely seen as a search for Chadha’s alleged influence in state affairs.
The bungalow, located in Sector 2 and part of the Prime Minister’s Office’s share, has been at the center of political debate, with opposition leaders and even some within AAP previously describing Chadha as a “parallel center of power”.
From master strategist to maverick
Raghav Chadha, once considered a close aide of Arvind Kejriwal and a key strategist in AAP’s landslide victory in Punjab in 2022, was among seven MPs who walked out of the party on April 24.
The group pointed to ideological differences, claiming that the AKP had “moved away from its basic principles, values and morals.”
Their merger with the BJP was later formally accepted by Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, reducing the AAP’s strength in the Upper House to just three members while strengthening the BJP’s stock.
The “traitors” statement and internal criticism
In previous comments, Mann went further, calling the dissident MPs “traitors”, in reference to a hardening stance by the party leadership.
The episode also sparked reflection within the AAP. Party MP Malvinder Singh Kang admitted that the leadership may have been wrong in giving Chadha too much influence. Another leader, Balbir Singh Seechwal, pointed out that Chaddha previously had great influence over the administrative machinery of Punjab.
The Bharatiya Janata Party welcomes dissidents, and the Justice and Development Party criticizes
The Bharatiya Janata Party, led at the national level by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, welcomed the new MPs, with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju calling it a boost for the NDA and “nation building”.
However, the AAP has objected to the move, calling it “unconstitutional” and demanding disqualification of dissidents.
The political battle is intensifying
As Punjab heads towards assembly elections in early 2027, the fallout from the defections has intensified political discourse from all parties.
While Mann sought to project stability through the confidence movement and downplay the exits, the BJP and opposition parties framed the incident as evidence of internal divisions within the association.
