The Punjab election battle appeared to cast a shadow over Opposition unity on Tuesday as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stayed away from the INDIA bloc MPs’ march to the Election Commission demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, with Congress leader Priyanka Kakkar questioning whether the upcoming Assembly poll were behind the decision.Kakkar, who recently joined the Congress after being associated with AAP, said the two parties had managed to come together twice in the past, suggesting that the Punjab polls could be the reason for AAP’s absence from Tuesday’s protest.“If AAP and Congress could come together for an alliance, not once but twice, it could only be the Punjab election stopping AAP from standing together with the entire Opposition bloc of MPs demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation today,” Kakkar said.She questioned the political priorities of the Opposition parties, asking whether anything could be considered more important than what she described as “vote chori” allegedly affecting the country.“Can there be any issue bigger than vote chori plaguing our nation at this time?” she asked.AAP’s absence was particularly noticeable as the Congress and several other Opposition parties rallied behind the demand for action against the CEC over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.The INDIA bloc protest also saw some unusual political equations. DMK did not join the march, while the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MPs participated alongside Opposition leaders before the Odisha-based party clarified that it was not part of the INDIA bloc.Later, BJD issued the clarification after its Rajya Sabha MPs were seen participating in the protest against the alleged arbitrary actions of Gyanesh Kumar in connection with the SIR exercise.The presence of BJD MPs alongside Congress leaders drew attention as it marked the first public political demonstration where leaders of the two parties were seen sharing a platform.The developments came as the Opposition sought to maintain pressure on the Election Commission over the electoral-roll revision exercise. The Congress and its allies have alleged that the SIR process could result in genuine voters being excluded from electoral rolls, while the Election Commission has rejected the allegations and maintained that the exercise is being conducted under the prescribed legal and statutory framework.