Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and National General Secretary (Organisation) Sandeep Pathak will be meeting the high command of the Aam Aadmi Party, including Sanjay Singh, and Sunita Kejriwal, according to the sources. The meeting will focus on discussing the possible reshuffling of the Punjab Cabinet and assessing AAP's Lok Sabha performance.
According to the sources, the party's high command is planning to replace at least five ministers, including two who faced controversy due to charges of misconduct. Some of the eight ministers in the Cabinet couldn't even secure a lead for the party in their areas during the recent Lok Sabha polls. They're likely to be replaced with new faces.
Names for the forthcoming by-poll to Punjab's Jalandhar West Assembly will also be discussed, according to the sources. The by-poll is being conducted after MLA Sheetal Angural resigned from the Punjab Assembly, followed by his switch to BJP from AAP.
Meanwhile, at least 15 MLAs, on Tuesday, met with the party’s national general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak. Gurpreet Singh Banawali, Devinder Singh Laddi Dhos, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, Ashok Prashar Pappi, Daljit Singh Grewal Bhola, Virender Goyal and Ravjot Singh were among the MLAs, present in the meet.
Seeing the significance of the Assembly seat for AAP, Mann, yesterday, held a meeting with the party leaders of Ludhiana and Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituencies, asking them to prepare for the by-election and work hard at the grassroots level to ensure the party’s victory.
Since the Lok Sabha elections concluded, Mann has been meeting the party leaders to take feedback from them.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress dealt a blow to the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP and SAD, winning seven of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the high-stakes polls in Punjab even as two independents registered a surprise victory.
The AAP clinched three seats: Hoshiarpur, Anandpur Sahib, and Sangrur.
Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could win only one seat and the BJP drew a blank in the border state.