New Delhi, Apr 24 — Senior Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal on Friday left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying more Rajya Sabha members from AAP are set to switch sides.
Addressing a press conference, Chadha said “seven out of ten” AAP Rajya Sabha MPs are ready to join the BJP. He added that he has submitted a letter with documents to Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan, citing provisions that recognise a merger when two-thirds of a party’s legislators move together.
Among those he named as joining or set to join the BJP are Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikram Sahni, Swati Maliwal and Mittal. Pathak and Mittal were present at the briefing.
The developments come ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections and involve leaders who had key organisational and electoral roles for AAP in the state.
AAP’s Punjab unit accused the BJP of attempting to split the party. Chief spokesperson Baltej Pannu alleged that central agencies were being used to create “an atmosphere of fear” among MPs and claimed Union Home Minister Amit Shah was behind the move. The BJP has not responded to these allegations.
Mittal’s premises were recently searched by the Enforcement Directorate, officials said. Earlier this month, AAP had removed Chadha from the post of deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha.