Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, along with several other leaders, quit the party just days after a major showdown ensued between him and senior AAP leaders. He said in a press conference on Friday that around seven of 10 AAP Rajya Sabha MPs decided to “merge with the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party]”.
Raghav Chadha announced that besides him, Rajya Sabha MPs Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal also quit the Aam Aadmi Party. He added that “more than 2/3rd of them [AAP Rajya Sabha MPs] are with us in this.”
“As per the Constitution, two-thirds of the total MPs of a party can merge with another party,” Chadha said.
Who are the 7 MPs who will ‘merge with BJP’?
Sharing names of other AAP leaders who decided to “merge with the BJP,” Raghav Chadha said, “There are 10 AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha, more than 2/3rd of them are with us in this.”
“They have signed, and this morning we submitted the signed letter and documents to the Rajya Sabha Chairman…three of them are here before you [Raghav, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal]. Besides us, there are Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal,” Raghav Chadha said.
Why did Raghav Chadha leave AAP?
Earlier this month, Raghav Chadha was removed as the AAP’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha. The leadership change cames amid growing speculation that Chadha distanced himself from the party’s core political messaging following AAP’s defeat in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections.
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that Chadha failed to toe the party’s line on several matters in Parliament and did not join opposition walkouts on key issues. Bharadwaj also criticised his absence during crucial moments.
Meanwhile, AAP IT cell chief Anurag Dhanda accused Chadha of using the “little time” the party gets in the Rajya Sabha to push the authorities to “make samosa cheaper”.
In response, Chadha, the chartered accountant-turned-politician, accused the AAP of trying to stop him from raising public issues.
On Friday, Raghav Chadha explicitly revealed as to why he had distanced himself with the party and its activities.
Chadha said, “I did not want to be a part of their crimes. I was not worthy of their friendship because I was not a part of their crime. We had just two options — either quit politics and give up our public work in the last 15-16 years or we do positive politics with our energy and experience.”
“So, 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.
In a press conference with Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, AAP MP Raghav Chadha said, “The AAP, which I nurtured with my blood and sweat, and gave 15 years of my youth to, has deviated from its principles, values and core morals.”
“Now, this party does not work in the interest of the nation but for its personal benefits…For the past few years, I could feel that I was the right man in the wrong party. So, today, we announce that I am distancing myself from the AAP and getting closer to the public,” he added.
About Raghav Chadha
Raghav Chadha, a Rajya Sabha member since April 2022, has remained an active parliamentary voice, frequently raising social and economic issues.
Chadha grabbed the limelight recently for raising public-centric issues in the Rajya Sabha. From paternal leaves to menstrual hygiene to spiralling samosa cost at airports, Chadha spoke in the Rajya Sabha about several daily issues of a middle-class family.
He also took up the cause of gig workers and traffic issues in the top Indian cities like Delhi and Bengaluru.
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