Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak Join BJP: AAP Loses 7 Rajya Sabha MPs in Merger Bombshell

In a stunning collapse of AAP’s parliamentary standing, Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal on Friday announced a formal merger with the BJP — claiming seven of the party’s ten Rajya Sabha members had signed on. AAP called it “Operation Lotus.” With the 2027 Punjab election on the horizon, the Bhagwant Mann government now faces a crisis that goes well beyond parliament.

Arvind Chhabra

Chandigarh, April 24

The Aam Aadmi Party suffered its most catastrophic parliamentary setback on Friday when three of its Rajya Sabha MPs — Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal — walked out of the party and into the arms of the Bharatiya Janata Party, announcing a formal constitutional merger that they claim has the support of seven of AAP’s ten members in the upper house.

Addressing a press conference at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi, Chadha — once among the most recognisable young faces of AAP — invoked the anti-defection provisions of the Constitution to justify the move. “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,” he declared.

The three MPs then proceeded to BJP headquarters, where the formal induction is expected to be completed.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called AAP’s Rajya Sabha members, who quit the party and announced joining the BJP, as ‘gaddars’ (traitors).

Mann, at a presser, accused the BJP of trying to break the Aam Aadmi Party and alleged that they had “betrayed the people of Punjab.”

The CM said that BJP’s unease was visible ever since the strict law against ‘beadbi’ (sacrilege) was enacted, as it struggles to accept decisive action on an issue deeply tied to Punjab’s sentiments.

Raghav Chadha later posted on X: Today, exercising the provisions of the Constitution of India, more than two-thirds of the AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha have merged with the BJP. Seven MPs have signed the document, which was submitted to the Hon’ble Chairman of the Rajya Sabha…”

The Breakaway Seven

In addition to Chadha, Pathak and Mittal, Chadha claimed that Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta and Vikramjit Singh Sahney had also quit AAP and were joining the BJP — taking the total to seven out of ten AAP Rajya Sabha MPs. Under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, a merger is valid only if at least two-thirds of a legislative party’s members support it — a threshold the breakaway faction claims to have crossed.

Mittal, who is from Punjab and represents LPU founder Ashok Kumar Mittal, had replaced Chadha as AAP’s Rajya Sabha deputy leader earlier this month following an acrimonious internal dispute. The ED had raided Mittal’s premises, both official and residential, earlier this month — a detail AAP Punjab seized upon to allege coercion.

AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal wrote on X that BJP has yet again betrayed the Punjabis.

The Chadha Narrative

Chadha framed his departure as an act of conscience, not opportunism. “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,” he said.

He added that he did not want to be part of “their crimes” and felt he was not welcome within the party because he refused to participate in what he described as wrongdoing. His choices, he said, were stark: exit public life entirely, or continue doing “positive politics” with a different platform.

The tension between Chadha and the AAP leadership had been simmering for weeks. AAP had removed him as Deputy Leader of Rajya Sabha [Read full Explainer] The AAP had accused Chadha of being reluctant to speak against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre in Parliament and of engaging in “soft PR” instead. Chadha dismissed these allegations as lies, saying he went to Parliament to raise people’s issues, not create ruckus.

You may like to read — When Raghav said: Ghayal hoon, isliye ghatak

AAP Hits Back: ‘Operation Lotus’

The AAP’s response was immediate and furious. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh held a press conference and called the seven MPs traitors, saying “the BJP, under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, has launched ‘Operation Lotus’ — an attempt to obstruct the good work of the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab on a large scale.”

Singh alleged that investigative agencies — the ED and CBI — had been weaponised to intimidate MPs into switching sides. “The BJP used state machinery to create fear and initiate Operation Lotus,” he said, adding that the BJP was attempting to bring down the Bhagwant Mann-led government in Punjab.

The Punjab unit of AAP had earlier in the day anticipated the move, putting out a statement accusing the BJP of engineering a split by creating an “atmosphere of fear” among its MPs through the Enforcement Directorate.

The Punjab Dimension

The merger carries profound implications for Punjab. Of the seven MPs named, several have direct Punjab roots or links — Harbhajan Singh (Jalandhar-born cricket icon turned AAP MP), Ashok Mittal (LPU founder and Punjab’s Rajya Sabha voice), and Vikramjit Singh Sahney (NRI businessman and AAP face in Punjab diaspora politics). Their departure strips AAP of its Punjab-linked parliamentary voice just as the Bhagwant Mann government enters the final stretch before the 2027 assembly election.

The BJP, which has struggled to find traction in Punjab since its fallout with the Akalis and its poor showing in 2022, now gets a sudden injection of prominent Punjab-connected faces — names that carry recognition in the state even if their grassroots influence is debatable.

What the Constitution Says

Under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law), MPs who voluntarily give up party membership or vote against party direction face disqualification. However, a merger — defined as at least two-thirds of the legislative party joining another — is explicitly protected from disqualification. By claiming seven of ten AAP Rajya Sabha MPs are on board, the faction is legally shielded from losing their seats. The Rajya Sabha Secretariat will verify the paperwork submitted.

BJP says AAP ‘den of corruption’

BJP IT department head Amit Malviya posted on X, “The Aam Aadmi Party is in complete disarray. The collapse is no longer speculation; it is unfolding in real time.”

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said, “No one believes in the corrupt AAP. The party, which started by claiming to be a party with a difference, has become a den of corruption.”

Just the beginning: Majithia

Senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia said a churn has begun within the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab and warned of a “wider exodus that could destabilise the government.”

“This is the beginning. I was expecting it in August, but it has happened in April,” Majithia said.

Majithia claimed that MLAs of AAP in Punjab would now start leaving the party, with the exodus beginning from Jalandhar and Ludhiana. He added that these developments have put the government led by Bhagwant Mann under serious threat.

Calling for a constitutional test, Majithia said Bhagwant Mann must now prove his majority in the Legislative Assembly.

Congress leader and leader of the opposition in Punjab legislative assembly Partap Singh Bajwa said AAP in Rajya Sabha is headed for a split with Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and others rebelling to claim the “original” party. He wrote on X: “As said earlier, @AAPPunjab will collapse like a house of cards, this is not about ideology or Punjab’s interests, but a power struggle over control and loot of Punjab’s public exchequer.”

What Happens Next

The immediate question is whether all seven named MPs have actually signed — or whether some are being counted without confirmed assent. Swati Maliwal and Harbhajan Singh had not independently confirmed their position at the time of going to press. A formal acceptance by the BJP and a ruling from the Rajya Sabha Chairman on the merger’s validity will be the next procedural steps. For Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP, this is the gravest parliamentary crisis since the party’s formation. It arrives with Delhi already lost and Punjab the only major government left standing.