Raghav Chadha, 6 other Rajya Sabha MPs exit AAP to join BJP, desert Kejriwal

THe Aam Aadmi company (AAP) was shaken on fri after Rajya Sabha fellow member Raghav Chadha proclaimed that seven out of 10 parliamentarians from the Upper House were quitting the party and joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), marking a political crisis less than a year before assembly elections in Punjab.In a press conference in Delhi, Chadha – who was recently removed as the party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha – was joined by his replacement in the Upper House, Ashok Mittal, and Sandeep Pathak, once one of the closest associates of party chief Arvind Kejriwal.“We have decided that we, the 2/3rd members belonging to the AAP in Rajya Sabha, exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge ourselves with the BJP,” Chadha said.“There are 10 AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha, more than 2/3rd of them are with us in this. They have signed and this morning we submitted the signed letter and documents to the Rajya Sabha chairman... Three of them are here before you. Besides us, there are Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Swati Maliwal,” he added.Also read: What Chadha-led rupture in AAP means for BJP in Punjab: Just 2 MLAs in 2022, to 6 MPs now, but with ‘outsider’ tagMaliwal, who fell out with Kejriwal and fought a fractious legal battle with his aide Vibhav Kumar two years ago, confirmed she left the AAP. Sahney confirmed that he had “BJP support”. Neither Singh nor Gupta responded to multiple calls and messages.Six of the seven members belong to Punjab. Only Sanjay Singh, Balbir Singh Seechewal and ND Gupta remain with the AAP in the Upper House.The young party, which lost control of Delhi just a year ago appeared shaken by the massive mutiny – especially that of Pathak, who spent years with Kejriwal and was the party’s general secretary, and Mittal, whom the party had elevated as its deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha just this month and who was raided by the Enforcement Directorate soon after. “The BJP has once again given Punjabis a shove,” Kejriwal posted on X.Sanjay Singh, the party’s leader in the Rajya Sabha, said he will move to disqualify Chadha, Pathak and Mittal.“I will submit a letter to the Hon’ble Rajya Sabha Chairman, in which a demand will be made to declare Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, and Sandeep Pathak disqualified from Rajya Sabha membership for joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as this is tantamount to voluntarily relinquishing membership of their original party under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution,” he posted on X.But if all seven leaders really have quit the AAP, they might be safe. Since two-thirds of the members are resigning, including the deputy leader in the Upper House, Ashok Mittal, the members are not liable for disqualification under the anti-defection law, which stipulates that two-thirds of the elected members of the party must agree to merge with another, said people aware of the details.As per the law, the chairman of the House – vice-president CP Radhakrishnan – will have to determine whether the merger is in accordance with the anti-defection law. In the Rajya Sabha, the BJP currently has 106 members and the National Democratic Alliance effectively 141 (including five nominated members). This might now go up to 113 and 148, respectively – very close to a two-thirds majority in the Upper House.After their bombshell press conference, Chadha, Pathak and Mittal – in whose residence Kejriwal stayed – met BJP chief Nitin Nabin and joined the party.“Welcomed Raghav Chadha Ji, Sandeep Pathak Ji, and Ashok Mittal Ji to the BJP family at the party HQ today. Also, best wishes to Harbhajan Singh Ji, Swati Maliwal Ji, Vikram Sahney Ji, and Rajinder Gupta ji to work under the dynamic leadership of PM Narendra Modi towards the goal of Viksit Bharat 2047,” Nabin said on X.The BJP posted on X that Nabin also “congratulated Shri Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal, Rajinder Gupta and Shri Vikram Sahney for joining the BJP”. The AAP also said in a statement that seven lawmakers had left the party.Chadha’s press conference took political circles in Delhi by surprise though AAP leaders later said they were anticipating the BJP to poach lawmakers.“AAP, that I nurtured with my blood and sweat and to which I gave 15 years of my youth, has completely strayed from its principles, values and core morals,” said Chadha, whose ties with the party started deteriorating about two years ago.“Over the past few years, I have increasingly felt that I am the right person in the wrong party. Today, I announce my decision to move away from AAP and work more closely with the ‘janata’ (public),” he added.Another Rajya Sabha MP, Sandeep Pathak, said that he never thought this situation would arise, but it did. “For 10 years, I remained associated with this party. And today, I am parting ways with the AAP,” Pathak said.Mittal said he didn’t want to speak much on the issue. “Switching to BJP has nothing to do with recent ED raids on my business entities,” he said.“I believe with BJP full support I will be better positioned to serve Punjab and Punjabis more effectively,” Sahney said on X.Maliwal – whose public fallout with Kejriwal in 2024 came after an alleged assault by Vibhav Kumar – alleged that the party under Kejriwal had strayed from its founding principles.“With great sorrow today, I must say that the principles, values and resolve for honest politics with which we began this journey have been abandoned by Arvind Kejriwal ji and, at his behest, the entire Aam Aadmi Party,” she added.The rebellion – which claimed not just industrialists and educationists nominated by the AAP but also senior leaders and former aides of Kejriwal – can hurt the AAP in Punjab, which is scheduled to go to the polls in early 2027. If the party loses the election, it will be the first time since 2015 that the AAP is not in control of any province.Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann accused the BJP of conspiring to weaken him.“BJP and these MPs have betrayed Punjab, and Punjab will certainly give them a befitting reply. With no base in Punjab, BJP is resorting to manipulation & intimidation to buy leaders. Leaders who joined BJP earlier have been sidelined, and the same fate awaits these traitors from Punjab,” he said.Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said that the split was “natural” in a party with “no ideology”. “AAP should remain aware as their 50 MLAs might join the BJP, only MPs have left the party now...The party has no ideology...These MPs have no relevance in Punjab,” Warring told reporters.