• Source:JND
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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha, on Friday, announced a major defection during a press conference alongside Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal. Citing constitutional provisions, Chadha declared that a two-thirds majority of AAP’s Rajya Sabha members have decided to merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "I am moving away from Aam Aadmi Party", said Chadha.

This unprecedented development not only threatens the AAP's standing in the Upper House but also signals a tectonic shift in the opposition's unity ahead of the upcoming legislative sessions.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha says, "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 am the right man in the wrong party. So, today, we announce that I am distancing myself from the AAP and getting close to public," Chaddha added.

At the press conference, AAP MP Chadha asserted, "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...3 of them are here before you. Besides us, there are Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal."

Earlier this month, Chadha shared on Instagram a video titled "Voice Raised Price Paid", a compilation of clips of him raising various issues in Parliament, amid his ongoing rift with his party. "With due respect, to those who are questioning my parliamentary performance, I will let my work do the talking," he said in the post.

On April 2, the AAP removed Chadha as its deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha and has accused him of shying away from raising his voice against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre in Parliament and instead engaging in "soft PR".

The AAP replaced Raghav Chadha with Punjab MP and Lovely Professional University Chancellor Ashok Kumar Mittal as its deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha in April 2026. The party informed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat of the change, which follows reported internal concerns over Chadha's alignment with party activities.

On Friday, the political drama took an even more interesting turn when Ashok Mittal broke his silence to formally side with Raghav Chadha, solidifying the rebellion within the party's upper ranks. Addressing the media, Mittal confirmed his decision to merge with the BJP, effectively providing the necessary weight to the two-thirds split and leaving the AAP leadership scrambling to respond to the sudden collapse of their Rajya Sabha contingent. 


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