Friday’s defections by top Rajya Sabha leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party signal the BJP’s early forays into the 2027 Punjab election scene and the saffron party’s calibrated plans to get a quick foothold in an electorally barren land.Till today, the BJP had two MLAs in the Punjab Assembly. From today, it will have two MLAs and six members from the state in the Rajya Sabha.Led by Raghav Chadha, the move was executed with precision and the element of surprise laced it.No one saw the defections coming and AAP leaders had no whiff of the timing, with Manish Sisodia, Punjab AAP in-charge, in Gujarat today.Saffron party sources see a clear hand of BJP chief poll strategist Amit Shah in Friday’s developments. Ever since Shah sounded the poll bugle in Punjab, with a rally in Moga’s Killi Chahlan village on March 14, plans are in place on how to move ahead in the state.A team of leaders has been identified to engage Punjab leaders and influencers and expand the saffron footprint and acceptance in the border state, which Shah as Union Home Minister considers extremely important from the security and political viewpoint.It also suits the BJP that top AAP leaders like Raghav, Sandeep Pathak and Swati Maliwal, associated with Arvind Kejriwal since the party’s inception, have quit today saying AAP has strayed from the pledge of clean and honest politics.”AAP’s ‘kattar imandar’ image stands punctured. The very people who helped expand the party are quitting it saying it is a party given to deceit, corrupt practices and vested politics,” one of BJP strategists for Punjab and party’s general secretary Tarun Chugh told The Tribune today.Chugh said the entry of topmost AAP leaders into the BJP was a sign that the expiry date of AAP’s politics in Punjab was here. “Today is a historic day,” he said.The timing further reveals the BJP’s urgency in relation to Punjab elections.Even before the May 4 results of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and Assam elections are out, the BJP has turned its attention to Punjab, where polls are scheduled in 2027.Only on Thursday, BJP president Nitin Nabin had told a TV channel that the party would contest all 117 seats on its own. Earlier, Shah had said the BJP would no longer contend with a younger brother image in the state.Certain sections in the BJP, however, still maintain that a window, if not a door, was likely open for the Shiromani Akali Dal though there is no official word yet.Some sources add that with Shah directly involved in BJP election strategy for Punjab, more exits from other dominant Punjab parties — and not just AAP — could be expected.As for AAP, the setback would be hard to overcome ahead of elections in Punjab, Gujarat and Goa in 2027, all states where the party has a foothold.Raghav, Pathak and Maliwal, all senior political workers of AAP, have quit saying the party has lost its moorings.All three held important roles in the past.Pathak was Punjab in-charge, Raghav Punjab co-in-charge and Maliwal Delhi Commission for Women chief.Although Raghav today said he consciously distanced from AAP roles due to the party’s lost agenda of anti-corruption, AAP insiders time his alienation with his engagement to actor Parineeti Chopra.Also, after Kejriwal came out of jail in the excise scam, Sisodia, Atishi and Satyendar Jain have been commanding AAP.While AAP will portray today’s defections as a betrayal of Punjab, sections in the party remain wary of further exits.As for the resignations from AAP by industrialist MPs — Rajinder Gupta, Ashok Mittal and Vikramjit Sahney — go, AAP attributes these to the fear of central agencies.But Sahney’s statement today says otherwise.”Everything I have ever done in life I have done with the principle of Punjab first. I believe I will be able to better serve Punjab in the BJP. Punjab is not just a state, it is a legacy and is currently under severe financial stress. I remain committed to elevate both Punjab’s and India’s voice on the world stage,” said Sahney after resigning from AAP.