By Manya Bhasin
The political landscape leading up to the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections has experienced a massive tremor. In a significant blow to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Samana MLA and former Cabinet Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra has formally cut ties with the party. His resignation from AAP’s primary membership yesterday was quickly followed by a high-profile move to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi on Monday, alongside fellow legislators Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra and Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh.
During a subsequent press briefing in Chandigarh, Jouramajra and Pathanmajra publicly targeted the party’s central leadership. They accused Delhi-based figures, notably AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal and his close aide Bibhav Kumar, of orchestrating excessive interference in Punjab’s administrative affairs. Jouramajra further justified his exit by citing systemic governance failures, pointing to rampant drug abuse, unchecked corruption, deteriorating law and order, unresolved farmer grievances, and unfulfilled electoral promises.
From South Korean Factory Worker to Punjab Politics
Hailing from Lutki Majra village in Patiala district, Jouramajra’s path to political prominence was unconventional. The son of Gurdev Singh, his 2022 election filings state he completed his Class XII education under the Punjab School Education Board in 1994. Seeking better economic opportunities, he migrated to South Korea in 1999, spending roughly seven years working as a factory labourer. Upon returning to Punjab, he pivoted back to local agriculture and business.
His formal political journey kicked off in 2013 when he joined the newly formed AAP, eventually climbing the ranks to head its Patiala rural unit. He grabbed regional headlines in March 2019 after sustaining a gunshot injury in Tarn Taran district while heroically intervening to thwart an attempted kidnapping of a young girl.
Electoral Success, Cabinet Portfolios, and Controversies
Jouramajra’s electoral breakthrough occurred during the 2022 state elections, where he secured a massive victory by defeating veteran Shiromani Akali Dal leader Surjit Singh Rakhra in Samana by a decisive margin of 39,713 votes, pulling in a total of 74,375 votes.
Recognizing his influence, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann inducted him into the state Cabinet on July 4, 2022. He initially took charge of high-profile portfolios including Health and Family Welfare, alongside Medical Education and Research. Over his ministerial tenure, his responsibilities shifted across multiple departments, including Horticulture, Food Processing, Information and Public Relations, and Defence Services Welfare. However, following a major Cabinet reshuffle in September 2024, he was dropped from the council of ministers, continuing solely as the Samana MLA.
His stint as Health Minister was deeply marred by a highly publicized controversy in July 2022. While inspecting Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot, Jouramajra publicly ordered the Vice-Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Dr. Raj Bahadur, to lie down on a dirty, damaged hospital bed to prove a point about facility conditions. The recorded incident triggered immense outrage across the medical fraternity and opposition ranks, culminating in Dr. Raj Bahadur resigning over public humiliation—a resignation Chief Minister Mann ultimately accepted.
(Writer is an intern with The North News)
The North News
