Chandigarh/New Delhi, 10 February 2025: A day after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) faced a crushing defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections, party chief Arvind Kejriwal summoned Punjab MLAs and ministers for a meeting in Delhi on February 11.
Legislators have been directed to cancel prior engagements and assemble at Kapurthala House, the designated residence of the Punjab Chief Minister during visits to the national capital. The meeting follows claims by certain Congress leaders of being in contact with nearly 20 AAP MLAs. The party has previously accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to lure its legislators under “Operation Lotus.”
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who had been in Delhi for the past three days, returned to Punjab this afternoon. Shortly after his arrival, the Cabinet meeting scheduled for Monday was postponed to February 13. Initially planned for February 6 and later rescheduled to February 10, this will be the first Cabinet meeting in four months.
With AAP securing just 22 of 70 seats in Delhi, the party’s leadership now appears to be shifting focus to Punjab, its only ruling state. While the agenda of the meeting remains undisclosed, party insiders indicate that Kejriwal will urge MLAs to reconnect with voters at the grassroots level. “The message is clear—stay grounded and engage with the people as an ‘aam aadmi,’ without getting carried away by the perks of power,” a party functionary mentioned.
