It was perhaps a black day for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as seven of its prominent MPs announced their decision to join the BJP. The defection of seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs has dealt a serious blow to the party’s rank and file in the industrial city of Ludhiana, which had given a sweeping mandate to the party in the 2022 Assembly elections. AAP had won all six Assembly constituencies in the city.At the same time, party workers expressed resentment against the leadership, alleging that while nominations to the Rajya Sabha and key positions were being decided, workers and volunteers were overlooked.“The party is reaping the whirlwind,” remarked an agitated AAP worker, alleging that affluent businessmen were preferred over loyal and sincere grassroots workers.Taking a dig at the party, Punjab BJP spokesperson Anil Sarin said there was a limit to tolerance. “For how long would these founder members (AAP MPs) continue to compromise with their self-respect? This was bound to happen as all strings were controlled by AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal. Every transfer and every department had to toe the Delhi line. Look at the bureaucracy in Punjab — senior officers have been sidelined. The party was bound to collapse,” he said.Seasoned Congress leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu said every political party is guided by an ideology, but AAP lacked one and functioned like a service provider. “How long can such a model sustain, where services are rendered merely on demand?” he asked.“This was expected from AAP,” Ashu added, questioning how long politics could be run with “borrowed soldiers.”Senior SAD leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal said the core principles on which AAP came to power in Punjab had been defeated. “They failed to curb corruption and are themselves deeply mired in it, with Rajya Sabha tickets allegedly being sold. Their slogan was ‘AAP — for the common man’, but look at the privileges they enjoy. The people are not blind; they have already made up their minds well before the 2027 elections,” he said.AAP hits backAAP’s chief spokesperson Neel Garg termed the developments part of a ‘Lotus Operation’, calling it a conspiracy and a betrayal.“The BJP has always been known for its anti-Punjab stance, and this time too it has betrayed Punjabis. No one else will respond — people of Punjab themselves will give a befitting reply in the 2027 elections,” Garg said.