Raghav Chadha To Join BJP: Six Other AAP RS MPs Announce Move To BJP. Who Are They?

Raghav Chadha has announced that he will join the BJP along with a 2/3rd members belonging to 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 presser.

He also said that he had nurtured the AAP with his blood and sweat and gave 15 years of his youth to the party, has now completely deviated from its principles, its values, and its core moral values.

“Now, this party is not working for the country or in the interest of the nation, but for personal gain. Many of you have been telling me this for the past few years, and I too have personally felt this for some time…Therefore, today I announce that I am distancing myself from the Aam Aadmi Party and going to the people,” he added

Who are the other members?

Other than Chadha, the members are: Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Swati Maliwal, Rajendra Gupta and Vikran Sahani. 

Raghav Chadha said, “In the Rajya Sabha, the Aam Aadmi Party has 10 MPs. More than two-thirds of them are with us in this initiative. 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.”

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“As I mentioned, more than two-thirds of the MPs are supporting us, and we will provide you with the complete list shortly. Three of them are present here before you. In addition, there is world-class cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikram Sahney, and Swati Maliwal. The three present here are Ashok (Mittal) ji, Sandeep Pathak, and myself,” he added. 

Will Raghav Chadha Be Disqualified?

Had Raghav Chadha exited the AAP alone, he would have faced disqualification from the Rajya Sabha under the anti-defection law, which bars members from quitting their party or defying its whip.

However, under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, disqualification does not apply if at least two-thirds of a party’s legislators agree to merge with another party.

In AAP’s case, seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha MPs — meeting the two-thirds threshold — have backed the move, Chadha announced, alongside MPs Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal.

He said letters confirming the merger were also submitted by four others — Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Swati Maliwal — formalising the bloc’s shift to the BJP.