New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak on Friday resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party, dealing a major blow to Arvind Kejriwal and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Addressing a joint press conference, Chadha said that two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha members had decided to invoke constitutional provisions to merge with the BJP.
Raghav Chadha, Ashok Kumar Mittal and Sandeep Pathak have been serving as Rajya Sabha members from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) since 2022.
Addressing a press conference with Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, Raghav Chadha said, “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.”
“The AAP, which I nurtured with my blood and sweat, and gave 15 years of my youth to, has deviated from its principles, values and core morals. Now this party does not work in the interest of the nation but for its personal benefits…For the past few years, I could feel that I am the right man in the wrong party. So, today, we announce that I am distancing myself from the AAP and getting close to public,” he added.
Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Raghav Chadha said that prominent AAP figures, including Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal, are among those set to merge with the BJP. “They have signed and this morning we submitted the signed letter and documents to the Rajya Sabha chairman, Chadha said, adding that the other four AAP MPs who have agreed for the move are Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal.”
The announcement comes amid rising tensions within the Aam Aadmi Party following Raghav Chadha’s removal from a key parliamentary post, marking one of the most significant internal rifts in the party’s leadership in recent years. Reacting to his removal, Chadha said he had been “silenced, not defeated.”
A combative Chadha has since released four videos, dropping enough hints suggesting he will not sit idle over the decision.
BJP Takes A Swipe At Arvind Kejriwal
Taking a swipe at Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, BJP’s Amit Malviya said, “7 MPs leave the party. The Aam Aadmi Party is in complete disarray. Raghav Chadha, Sandip Pathak, and Ashok Mittal address a press conference announcing a split…The exodus doesn’t stop there. Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Swati Maliwal, and Vikramjit Sawhney also desert AAP.”
Meanwhile, alleging ‘operation lotus’ by BJP, AAP’s Sanjay Singh said, “The BJP, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah’s “Operation Lotus” and dirty politics, along with a large-scale conspiracy to obstruct the good work of the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab, have begun on a massive scale.”
