Raghav Chadha, the senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP, dropped a political bombshell on Friday, by announcing his exit from the party along with six other party lawmakers – all headed to the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). He said that the two-thirds faction of the AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, comprising a breakaway faction, will merge with the BJP in the coming days.
Chadha made the announcement in a press conference, accompanied by another party Rajya Sabha MP, Sandeep Pathak. According to multiple reports citing Chadha, those others who have decided to join ranks and take the plunge are Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta and Vikram Sahni.
The development comes as a body blow for the fledgling party and its convenor, as well as former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Raghav, one of the youngest parliamentarians, also announced that along with him, two-thirds of AAP Rajya Sabha MPs have decided to switch their political loyalties – a stance that will help them bypass the anti-defection law and shield them from any action by the parent party.
The development comes days after Raghav Chadha’s demotion in the House from the post of Deputy Leader of the party, for allegedly not raising key issues against the government. Interestingly, Ashok Mittal, who replaced Chadha as the new party Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha, has also joined him in the merger with the BJP.
Currently, the AAP has 10 members in the Upper House, with broad representation from Punjab – the only state where it remains in power. Out of 10 MPs, seven are from Punjab, namely – Raghav Chadha, Rajinder Gupta, Ashok Kumar Mittal, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Harbhajan Singh and Sant Balbir Singh. The lawmakers from Delhi are Swati Maliwal, Narain Dass Gupta and Sanjay Singh.