Big jolt to AAP, deputy leader among seven MPs from Punjab, Delhi joins saffron party
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ April 24,2026
Raghav Chadha has announced that he will join the BJP along with a big chunk of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs in the Rajya Sabha, dealing a major blow to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal weeks after he was demoted within the party.
“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 said on Friday while addressing a press conference
AAP Rajya Sabha MPs including Harbhajan, Swati Maliwal are among the popular AAP faces those merging with the BJP, he said while addressing a press meet this afternoon along with senior MPs Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak.
Raghav Chadha made the announcement in a press conference two more MPs he said are part of the merger — Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak. Interestingly, Ashok Mittal is who the AAP picked as the replacement of Raghav Chadha for the Rajya Sabha deputy leader post.
Other Than Chadha, the members are Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Swati Maliwal, Rajendra Gupta and Vikram Sahani
There are 10 AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha and, according to Raghav Chadha, more than two-third of them are part of the decision — a figure needed for the MPs to retain their membership in the upper house
