Amritsar, November 23: Referring to the phenomenon of party-hopping ahead of polls, AAP National Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that amid a competition over inducting MLAs from rival parties, over 25 MLAs and two MPs from Congress are in touch with AAP. Kejriwal's remarks came during a press conference in Amritsar. He is on a two-day visit to Punjab ahead of the Assembly polls scheduled to be held early next year.

Responding to a question on AAP MLAs leaving the party and joining other parties, "Ahead of elections, every MLAs from all the parties switch sides. Party-hopping is common everywhere. If there is completion over MLAs switching sides and joining rival parties, then I can assure there are a minimum of 25 MLAs and two MPs from the Congress party who are in touch with AAP. But we don't want their 'kachra'." Punjab Assembly Elections 2022: Arvind Kejriwal Promises Rs 1,000 Per Month to Girls Above 18 Years of Age if AAP Comes to Power.

This statement came after almost four rebel MLAs, including Rupinder Kaur, joined the Congress party in the past six months. In July, in the presence of former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, and other two MLAs Pirmal Singh and Jagdev Singh Kamalu had joined Congress.

With the nine MLAs deserting the AAP in the 4.5 years, the party has reduced to 11 in the Assembly. In the 2017 Assembly elections, the AAP had won 20 seats.

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