The Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government on Friday won a confidence motion in a special session of the Assembly, asserting that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was still strong and expanding its reach.
"All speculations have been put to rest today regarding all those who were saying that 65 or 40 MLAs of AAP are going away," he told ANI after the win.
#WATCH | Chandigarh: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann says, "...All speculations have been put to rest today regarding all those who were saying that 65 or 40 MLAs of AAP are going away."
— ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2026
"They have no issues to raise. What test should be done," he says on Congress' demand for an… pic.twitter.com/k9HazXZlYp
“When a broom is used to clean the dirt, a few bristles come out but it doesn’t affect the broom," he added in a fresh barb at Raghav Chadha and the six other Rajya Sabha MPs that had earlier defected to the BJP, comparing them to the bristles.
The Punjab CM had earlier called out rumours claiming that potential defections from AAP MLAs would destroy the party.
"There are rumours that AAP will be finished and its MLAs would switch sides, and such rumours create an illusion in people's minds," CM Mann had said while moving the confidence motion earlier on Friday, as per a PTI report.
"The party is strong. From Jammu and Kashmir to Goa, the party has a presence. In J&K's Doda, we have an MLA. Our government in Punjab is running successfully. In Delhi, we are in the Opposition. We have five MLAs in Gujarat, two in Goa," he added.
Moved by CM Mann at a special Labour Day session of the Punjab's Vidhan Sabha—where a controversy had earlier broken out over the Opposition alleging that he had arrived for the session under the influence of alcohol—the confidence motion comes just days ahead of the high-profile exit of seven Rajya Sabha MPs from the AAP.
Punjab CM @BhagwantMann attended today’s special Vidhan Sabha session on Labour Day in an inebriated state.
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) May 1, 2026
This is a serious breach of decorum in the Temple of Democracy and a grave insult to the people of Punjab who elected him.
A habitual drunkard, he has repeatedly been… pic.twitter.com/p91spEQtka
The ruling party, which enjoys a strong majority in the Assembly with 94 MLAs, had earlier issued a whip to all legislators to attend the Friday session.
The high-profile AAP exodus
The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP on April 24 suffered a serious setback in the Rajya Sabha when seven of its ten MPs jumped over to the BJP.
The MPs were led by the party's former Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha, Raghav Chadha, professor-turned-politician Sandeep Pathak, and Ashok Mittal, who had been chosen to replace Chadha in the Rajya Sabha.
Other MPs involved in the move were Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Sahney and Swati Maliwal.
The outgoing MPs—especially Chadha—had alleged that the party had deviated from its ideals and core values.
AAP spokesperson Sanjay Singh had alleged that the BJP was engaging in 'Operation Lotus'—intending to use federal agencies to poach leaders from other parties and destabilise it.
