Rohit Kumar
NEW DELHI, Apr 24: In a major jolt to the former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the party’s former Rajya Sabha deputy leader Raghav Chadha and two other party MPs Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak on Friday quit AAP and joined the BJP.
Addressing a press conference Mr Chadha along with Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, claimed that at least 2/3rd of the 10 AAP members of the upper house would quit the party and cross over to the BJP. “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,” Mr Chadha said.
Giving reasons in support of his decision to quit the AAP and join the BJP, Mr Chadha said, “I am telling you the real reason as to why I distanced myself from party activities. I did not want to be a part of their crimes. I was not eligible for their friendship because I was not a part of their crime. We had just two options – either quit politics and give up our public work in the last 15-16 years or we do positive politics with our energy and experience. So, 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.”
Raghav Chadha, Ashok Kumar Mittal and Sandeep Pathak have been serving as Rajya Sabha members from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) since 2022.
Raghav Chadha said, “The Aam Aadmi Party, which I nurtured with my blood and sweat and to which I gave 15 years of my youth, has now completely deviated from its principles, values, and core morals. The party is no longer working for the country or in the national interest, but for personal gain. Many of you have been telling me this for the past few years, and I too have personally felt that I am the right man in the wrong party. I repeat, ‘I am the right man in the wrong party.’ Therefore, today I announce that I am distancing myself from the Aam Aadmi Party and going to the people.”
Raghav Chadha further said “We, two-thirds of the Members of Parliament belonging to the Aam Aadmi Party in the Rajya Sabha, will exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).”
Mr Chadha also claimed that Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta and Vikramjit Singh Sahney would also quit AAP and join the BJP. “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, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal.”
Raghav Chadha earlier this month shared on Instagram a video titled “Voice Raised Price Paid,” a compilation of clips of him raising various issues in Parliament, amid his ongoing rift with his party. “With due respect, to those who are questioning my parliamentary performance, I will let my work do the talking,” he said in the post.
The AAP on April 2 removed Chadha as its deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha and was replaced by Ashok Mittal. The party had accused him of shying away from raising his voice against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Center in Parliament and instead engaging in “soft PR.” There have been reports of growing internal tensions, including differences with the party leadership over various issues.
A combative Chadha has dismissed the party’s allegations as “lies” and said that he went to Parliament to raise people’s issues and not to create ruckus. Since his removal as the AAP’s deputy leader in the Upper House, Chadha has shared several videos and posts on social media, making it clear that he would not take his demotion lying down.
The former Indian cricket star Harbhajan Singh and the former Delhi Women’s Commission chairperson Swati Maliwal are among the popular faces merging with the BJP.
Sources suggest Chadha could be made a minister after he joins the BJP. Chadha had been with the AAP since its inception in 2012, working as a trusted lieutenant to Kejriwal, who stormed into power in Delhi in 2015 riding the wave that followed the anti-corruption movement.
The development marked a major setback for AAP and its leader, Arvind Kejriwal. AAP currently has 10 Rajya Sabha MPs, with a large chunk from Punjab.
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