New Delhi: A major political shift unfolded on Friday as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha and six other AAP MPs announced their merger with the Bharatiya Janata Party, invoking provisions under the Constitution to retain their membership.
Addressing a press conference, Chadha said that “two-thirds of the Members of Parliament belonging to the AAP in the Rajya Sabha” had decided to merge with the BJP. He added that signed documents had been submitted to the Rajya Sabha Chairman to formalise the move.
Apart from Chadha, the MPs named as part of the merger include Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Swati Maliwal. With AAP having 10 MPs in the Rajya Sabha, the support of at least seven members meets the two-thirds threshold required under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law.
Post the press conference, Chadha along with two other MPs met BJP President Nitin Nabin at the party headquarter in New Delhi. Nabin officially welcomed the MPs by offering folower bouquets and sweets.
The development comes days after Chadha was removed as deputy leader of AAP in the Rajya Sabha, reportedly over differences with the party leadership.
Under India’s anti-defection framework, individual defections can lead to disqualification. However, a merger involving at least two-thirds of a party’s legislators is treated differently, allowing members to retain their seats if they collectively join another party.
The move triggered sharp reactions from AAP leaders. Senior party leader Sanjay Singh described the MPs as “traitors” and accused the BJP of orchestrating “Operation Lotus” ahead of the Punjab elections. He alleged that central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation were being used to weaken the party.
“The people of Punjab will never forget these ‘traitors’,” Singh said, adding that the development was part of a larger political strategy by the BJP.
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal also criticised the move, stating on X that “the BJP has once again betrayed Punjabis.”
The political shift comes at a time when AAP is preparing for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections, adding a new dimension to the state’s political landscape.
