Chandigarh/Chamkaur Sahib, November 14: Sitting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Chamkaur Sahib, Dr Charanjit Singh, voiced strong resentment against the party leadership on Saturday and declared that he will contest the Chamkaur Sahib seat at any cost, days after being denied renomination in AAP's second candidate list for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.

In its second list released on Thursday (November 12), the AAP fielded Jasvir Singh Garhi — former Punjab BSP president and former chairman of the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission — from Chamkaur Sahib. Garhi joined the AAP in January 2025 and was appointed the constituency's halqa in-charge in August.

Dr Charanjit Singh, an eye surgeon, rose to prominence as a giant-slayer after defeating former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi by over 7,900 votes in 2022. Questioning Garhi's winnability, he said: "I am doing my job as an MLA honestly and there is no allegation or any corruption charge against me. But why has the party done this?" He said he had been assured Garhi was appointed solely to strengthen the party organisation, not to contest.

Speaking to PTI-Bhasha, he said he had never asked the party for a ministerial post or any other position, and that he had expected the ticket on the strength of his work. Listing his tenure's record, he pointed to a Rs 75-crore lift irrigation scheme covering 50 villages, a 50-bed hospital, two drinking water projects, Aam Aadmi Clinics, a fire office and an animal hospital — projects he presented as his work as MLA.

The access allegation: Dr Charanjit Singh alleged that for the past year he had been seeking time with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to discuss constituency development works but could not secure even a two-minute appointment, and that he had also not been able to meet AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal for the last two months. That is his allegation; no AAP response to it was reported in the coverage checked.

He also claimed that other political parties are already approaching him. He has not, in the reports checked, announced leaving the AAP or joining another party; an earlier report said he would take his next decision after consulting his long-time associates.

Why it matters: Chamkaur Sahib is a Scheduled Caste-reserved seat, and the open revolt of the MLA who defeated a former chief minister there in 2022 is the most public expression yet of the discontent inside the AAP after its second list — following the resignations over the Rajasansi ticket. If Dr Charanjit Singh stands by his declaration, the AAP could end up fighting its own sitting MLA in Chamkaur Sahib.

Dr Charanjit Singh's name was missing from the AAP's second candidate list for the 2027 Punjab elections, which named Jasvir Singh Garhi from Chamkaur Sahib instead. Read the earlier report