Raghav Chadha, a senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP, announced today that he is leaving the party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He is joined by a significant number of other AAP members in the Upper House.
Raghav Chadha joins BJP, blow out at AAP
This marks a big setback for AAP and its leader, Arvind Kejriwal. Chadha, 37, stated that about two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs are also moving to the BJP. Along with Chadha, the MPs named as joining the BJP include Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikram Sahney.
Currently, AAP has 10 RajyaSabha MPs, most of whom are from Punjab. Chadha, speaking to the media alongside senior AAP MPs Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak, said he had dedicated 15 years to the party. However, he felt it had strayed from the “honest politics” it once stood for.
Confirm joining of other 7 AAP MPs
“The AAP that I gave 15 years of my life to… Now the party has stepped away from honest politics. I am the right man in the wrong party. I am leaving the party and going closer to the people,” he said.
“As per the Constitution, two-thirds of the total MPs of a party can merge with another party,” Raghav Chadha added. “We have submitted a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan today, along with all the necessary documents.”
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