Raghav Chadha, Six Other Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha Mps Join BJP

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Seven Rajya Sabha MPs of the Aam Aadmi Party, including Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, quit the party on Friday and joined the BJP.

Chadha's dramatic exit came weeks after he was removed as the deputy leader of AAP in the Rajya Sabha. The party also requested that Chadha not be allotted any speaking time from the AAP's official quota in the House.

AAP had replaced Punjab MP Ashok Mitta as the deputy leader in the Upper House. On Friday, Mittal also joined BJP along with Chadha.

Addressing a press conference, Chadha, flanked by Pathak and Mittal, said that two-thirds of the Aam Aadmi Party's Rajya Sabha MPs have quit the party and will join the BJP as a faction.

Chadha said that party MPs Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal are also quitting the AAP along with, Rajendra Gupta, and Vikram Sahni.

The AAP had a total of 10 MPs in the Rajya Sabha and with seven of them switching sides, they would avoid disqualification under the Anti-Defection Law.
“In the Rajya Sabha, the Aam Aadmi Party has 10 MPs. More than two-thirds of them are with us in this initiative,” Chadha said.

"They have already signed, and this morning we submitted all the required documentation, including signed letters and other formal paperwork, to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha," Chadha added.

Chadha said that the party is no longer working for the country, but for its own benefit.

"Over the past few years, I have increasingly felt that I am the right person in the wrong party. Today, I announce my decision to move away from AAP and work more closely with the 'janata' (public)," he said.

Responding to the developments, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP had once again betrayed the people of Punjab after seven Rajya Sabha MPs quit the party.

Kejriwal, in a post on X, said, "The BJP has once again betrayed Punjabis."

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