Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab continues to be a ship without a captain, remote controlled by its national convener Arvind Kejriwal from Delhi. In Punjab for the fourth time since the heating up of the poll-activity in the State, Kejriwal did not announce the Chief Minister’s name, giving enough indications that the elections, this time too, would be fought under his name.

Time and again, Kejriwal and the party's other central leaders have been maintaining that the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate would be a “Punjabi” and someone “everyone would be proud of”. However, the delay and the continued suspense over the announcement is causing restlessness within the state party unit.

Notably, Kejriwal had, during his visit to the state about two months ago, announced that AAP would “shortly” announce a CM face. However, once again, he decided to put on hold the announcement even as the demand to announce party’s state unit chief Bhagwant Mann’s name is gaining ground.

AAP’s most popular face in Punjab and party’s lone Lok Sabha MP in the country, the the stand-up comedian-turned-politician Bhagwant Mann has emerged as the favourite within the state party unit for the Chief Ministerial face, with several party leaders, including legislators too, rallying their support in his favour again and again.

In fact, Mann had also publicly expressed that AAP should announce a Chief Minister face in Punjab soon. Notably, Punjab is going to polls early next year.

Kejriwal on Tuesday said that no party, in any poll bound state, be it Goa, Punjab, Uttrakhand, or Uttar Pradesh, has announced a Chief Ministerial candidate. “I assure you that we will be the first to announce CM candidate in Punjab,” he said, with a section of party leaders chanting slogans in Bhagwant Mann’s favour.

Justifying his decision of not naming AAP’s CM face, Kejriwal said: “Even the ruling Congress has not declared its CM face yet. Has the party said who is going to be their CM? Will the Congress project (Charanjit Singh) Channi or will Navjot Singh Sidhu be the next CM?”

Kejriwal added that the Congress and BJP were yet to declare their CM candidates in other poll-bound states like Uttar Pradesh, Goa, and Uttarakhand as well.

Even as the AAP supremo decided to defer the declaration of its Chief Ministerial candidate, the state’s party leaders are becoming more and more restless. In fact, of the total 20 MLAs, six have given up AAP’s “broom” to hold Congress’ “hand”, with the Congress claiming that at least three more legislators are ready for the switch.

After its first ever full-fledged Punjab assembly elections in 2017, AAP had 20 MLAs in the 117-member House — emerging as the second-largest party after the ruling Congress. However, the number continued to fall over all these years.

Already, AAP’s Dakha MLA HS Phoolka, the former Leader of Opposition, had resigned in 2019 which was accepted by the Speaker. Only recently, Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana KP Singh accepted Sukhpal Singh Khaira’s resignation and disqualified Master Baldev Singh Jaito, bringing AAP’s strength in the House down to 17.

Out of the remaining 17 members, AAP’s three MLAs — Pirmal Singh, Nazar Singh Mansahia, and Jagdev Singh Kamalu — have already shifted their loyalties towards the Congress, and have submitted their resignations also.

Its another MLA and former journalist Kanwar Sandhu continues to be a rebel, and is under suspension. He has met the Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, and grapevine is that he may also soon join the Congress.

Besides, AAP’s youngest MLA Rupinder Kaur Ruby has also resigned to join the Congress recently, while Jagdev Singh Jagga announced the “shift” during the Vidhan Sabha’s session — bringing down the effective number of AAP MLAs to 12.

Responding on the defections from AAP, Kejriwal said that the trend of switching parties is not new. He claimed that several sitting MLAs and MPs from the Congress were also in touch with him, “but we do not want to take the same ‘kachra’ (garbage),”.

“The party contested 2017 polls under Kejriwal’s name which did not go as planned. This time, we have been insisting that we should have a party face from Punjab to the poll campaign, but there is a delay on leadership’s part. They must have planned something...we still have time. We will announce that at the right time,” a senior AAP MLA, who did not wish to be named, told The Pioneer.

As Kejriwal on Monday launched the party’s campaign for the autowallahs, “ikk mauka Kejriwal nu” with only Kejriwal’s picture on it, AAP gave clear indications that its face for the polls campaign would be its supremo.

It has been learnt that the party is yet to zero in on the name, and in fact, trying to rope in someone who can lead the party in the state.