Punjab Police Pulls Harbhajan Singh's Security After BJP Switch
The AAP government's move against the cricket legend-turned-MP signals how state security apparatus is being weaponised ahead of Punjab's 2027 elections.
Punjab Police withdrew the security detail of Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh on April 25, 2026 — the day after the former Indian cricket captain defected from the Aam Aadmi Party to the BJP. Nine to ten state police personnel were pulled from his residence; CRPF personnel, deployed by the Centre, remain in place.
The timing leaves little room for alternative interpretation.
The Power Play Is Straightforward
Bhagwant Mann's AAP government controls Punjab Police. State-assigned security cover is a discretionary benefit — not a constitutional right — and it is routinely adjusted when political allegiances shift. By stripping Harbhajan's cover within 24 hours of his defection, the AAP administration sent a loud message to any other sitting MP or MLA contemplating a similar move: the cost of switching is immediate and personal.
Harbhajan Singh was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2022 on an AAP ticket, giving the party a high-visibility celebrity face at the national level. His exit to the BJP — Punjab's principal opposition ahead of the 2027 state assembly elections — is not a trivial loss. It signals AAP's declining hold on prominent non-political figures the party recruited to burnish its national image.
The Centre's counter-move was equally pointed. CRPF personnel were visibly stationed outside Harbhajan's residence on April 26, a signal from the Union Home Ministry that it will cover the security gap. This is consistent with a broader pattern: the Centre granted Z-category CRPF protection to newly elected BJP president Nitin Nabin in January 2026 following his appointment, underscoring how security deployment has become a live instrument of Centre-state political competition. The BJP-led central government and the AAP-run Punjab government are now, effectively, providing competing security perimeters around the same man.
The Punjab Context
Punjab is already a high-friction political environment. A blast outside the BJP's Chandigarh office on April 1, 2026 — investigated by the NIA — has sharpened BJP's argument that the AAP government cannot ensure law and order. Simultaneously, ED raids on AAP MP Ashok Mittal's business interests on April 15 have fuelled Mann's counter-narrative of central agency misuse. Harbhajan Singh's security row lands squarely in this escalating cycle of political attrition between Delhi and Chandigarh.
AAP's defensible position — that state security is allocated on threat-assessment criteria, not political loyalty — is undermined by the 24-hour turnaround. If the threat assessment changed that fast, the party will need to show the paperwork. It hasn't, publicly. For 
India watchers tracking the gradual erosion of institutional neutrality in state politics, this episode fits a well-worn pattern visible across multiple opposition-governed states.
What to Watch Next
Three pressure points define the next phase:
- Harbhajan's formal BJP role — Whether the party gives him a campaign-facing position ahead of 2027 will indicate how much electoral capital they believe he carries in the state.
- More defections — If additional AAP-linked public figures follow Harbhajan, expect further security-cover revocations and a sharper Centre-state standoff.
- Punjab Assembly Elections, early 2027 — Every move here is a preview. Security politics, ED raids, and celebrity defections are all instruments in a campaign that has effectively already begun.
The CRPF's visible presence outside Harbhajan's door is the clearest single image of where Punjab's political war currently stands: two governments, one residence, zero ambiguity. Follow the broader India politics thread for further developments.
Sources: 
The Hindu — Punjab Police withdraws security cover of MP Harbhajan Singh | 
Live Mint — Harbhajan Singh's security cover withdrawn by Punjab Police
