Days after walking out of jail on regular bail in both the rape and illegal mining cases registered against him, Sanaur MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, 50, has launched an aggressive outreach campaign in his constituency and has openly indicated that his political future may not necessarily lie with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Speaking to The Indian Express, Pathanmajra struck a rebellious tone and said he would decide his future political course only after consulting the people of his constituency.

“I will be organising akhand path in my house in Pathanmajra village before June 15 and on the bhog ceremony of akhand path… I will talk to the voters of my area, and whatever feedback they will give me… I will proceed accordingly. I was made to suffer because I dared to raise my voice against the wrongdoings within the water resources department last year… hence, instead of listening to the MLA of their own party, they (AAP leaders) preferred to target me. I am with my own people and will continue to serve them,” he said.

Clarifying his political plans, Pathanmajra added, “I will contest the 2027 poll from Sanaur for sure, but from which party, that is not sure. As of now, technically, I am an AAP MLA, though they appointed another constituency in charge in September last year, days after lodging an FIR against me. If the AAP hears me and starts taking care of the constituency even now… I can stay on in this party itself, or options are open for me to go to either the BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal, or even the Congress. I can dare to contest as an independent as well… I will stand for the voters of my area.”

Pathanmajra, who is the paternal uncle of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s wife, rejected suggestions that his family connection provided him with any political protection.

“Whatever happened with me was a combined effort of Delhi and Punjab AAP leaders… and had I been a ‘favoured’ MLA because of my relationship with the CM, I wouldn’t have been behind bars or made to suffer humiliation for a year,” he said.

Charges against Pathanmajra

The Sanaur MLA was named in a rape case registered at the Civil Lines police station, Patiala, on September 1, 2025. The FIR was lodged on the complaint of a woman who alleged that Pathanmajra misrepresented himself as a divorced man, established a relationship with her on the promise of marriage, and later continued the relationship despite already being married. The FIR invoked charges of rape, cheating, and criminal intimidation.

After the registration of the case, Pathanmajra remained out of police reach for several months before being arrested near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh in March 2026.

Apart from the rape case, Pathanmajra was also booked in an illegal mining case registered at the Julkan police station in Patiala district on September 5, 2025. Following his arrest in the rape case, the police formally arrested him in the mining case as well. A Patiala court granted him regular bail in the mining case on May 25, 2026, while the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him regular bail in the rape case on May 29, 2026. The high court directed him to surrender his passport, report to the police station concerned twice every month and refrain from contacting the complainant or witnesses. He was subsequently released from Bathinda Central Jail on May 31.

Facebook page

Even during his absence from the constituency, Pathanmajra’s Facebook page remained active through his supporters. On April 7, while he was in jail, a post alleged that the Punjab government had rolled back development funding promised to Sanaur.

“The Punjab government had promised to give (Rs) 5 crore for the constituency Sanour. Out of which 2.5 crore was also distributed in every village in the presence of MLA Sahib. But the government has demanded back the remaining 2.5 crore amount, which had already been received. Don’t understand why the government is backtracking from the development of the constituency Sanour?” the post read.

On April 16, another post carried a quote attributed to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee: “Agar tum apni pasand ki party ki galtiyon par chup rehte ho to tum Desh Premi nahi sirf party premi ho. Partiyan aati jaati rehti hai lekin desh hamesha rahena chahiye (If you remain silent on the mistakes of your preferred political party, then you are not a patriot but merely a party loyalist. Political parties come and go, but the nation must always endure).”

Pathanmajra claimed he would continue raising issues concerning his constituency. “I am a person who dares to call a spade a spade. However, I will not sit quietly here itself… I will provide full report with proofs about the IAS officer responsible for lack of drain cleaning in my area which led to floods last year… let me see what action the Punjab CM will take on him.”

Asked about his rebel tone, he replied, “I wasn’t like this, they only made me like this… still I will forget everything if they will do development works of my constituency.”

Commenting on preparations ahead of the monsoon, he said, “Another monsoon is approaching and though some cleaning work is going on, but the monsoon will actually tell how correctly they did all the works or once again farmers will suffer.”

On June 1, while meeting residents in his constituency, Pathanmajra was seen wearing a saffron turban. In a lighter vein, he remarked, “I am wearing a saffron turban. Now they may link it with the BJP. My uncle is wearing a blue turban and they may link it with Shiromani Akali Dal as well… but the fact is that I am still an AAP MLA.”

Pathanmajra was declared a proclaimed offender by a Patiala court in December 2025. Subsequently, on January 29, 2026, the district administration evicted his family from the government accommodation in Civil Lines, Patiala.

Party hopping

Hailing from a politically influential family associated with the early history of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Pathanmajra has switched parties multiple times during his political career. After stints with the Shiromani Akali Dal, People’s Party of Punjab, Aam Aadmi Party, Congress and Punjab Ekta Party, he rejoined the AAP in December 2020 and went on to win the 2022 Assembly election from Sanaur by defeating SAD candidate Harinder Pal Singh Chandumajra by a margin of 49,112 votes. Even today, he calls SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal as his political guru and said that he learnt early lessons of politics from him. “Political rivalry apart, I have never said anything against Sukhbir Singh Badal and nor did he,” Pathanmajra added.