Former Punjab MLA and retired IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh has launched a sharp political attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), declaring that the party has effectively lost its political relevance in Punjab following his decision to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Speaking in Delhi after joining the BJP, Kunwar Vijay Pratap claimed that AAP’s political decline was the result of the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. He asserted that the party, for all practical purposes, no longer existed as a meaningful political force in the state.
Predicting a major political shift in Punjab, he said a “double-engine” government, referring to the BJP forming the government in Punjab alongside the BJP-led Centre, would also be established in the state.
On the issue of drugs and law and order, Kunwar Vijay Pratap referred to his earlier tenure as Superintendent of Police in Amritsar, claiming that during 2007, 2008 and 2009, the drug menace and crime had been brought under control through effective policing.
He alleged that after his departure, the situation was never managed with the same effectiveness, suggesting that Punjab had continued to struggle with drugs and criminal activity. His remarks have once again brought the state’s law-and-order situation and the effectiveness of successive governments into the political debate.
Kunwar Vijay Pratap’s entry into the BJP comes at a politically significant time, as Punjab’s political parties begin positioning themselves for the next Assembly elections. His experience as a police officer and former legislator is likely to become part of the BJP’s campaign against the AAP government.
However, his predictions about AAP’s political future and claims regarding the eradication of drugs and crime during his earlier police tenure remain his political assertions. The coming months will determine whether his move strengthens the BJP’s position in Punjab or further reshapes the state’s political landscape