Arvind Kejriwal's First Reaction On Raghav Chadha's Switch To BJP

Sources told NDTV Chadha - targeted by AAP leaders this month for soft-peddling or avoiding criticism of PM Modi and the BJP - could be made a union minister after joining his new employers.

24 Apr 2026, 11:08 · www.ndtv.com

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"BJP has again betrayed Punjab," Arvind Kejriwal posted on X
Raghav Chadha and two colleagues declared merging with BJP from AAP's Rajya Sabha MPs
Seven out of AAP's 10 Rajya Sabha MPs will join the BJP as per the announcement

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Aam Aadmi Party boss Arvind Kejriwal had a one-line response to the bombshell Punjab Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha dropped Friday afternoon. "The BJP has once again betrayed Punjabis," the former Delhi Chief Minister said on X.

Shortly before that Chadha and two colleagues - Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak - announced they would lead four others to merge with the BJP. "The AAP I gave 15 years of my life to... now it has stepped away from honest politics. I am the right man in the wrong party. I am moving away and going close(r) to the people. The AAP of today is corrupt and compromised," he said.

"We have signed and sent it (the decision to merge with the BJP) to the Rajya Sabha."

READ | Raghav Chadha's BJP Shocker For Kejriwal. 6 Other MPs To Switch Too

Sources told NDTV Chadha - targeted by AAP leaders this month for soft-peddling or avoiding criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party - could be made a union minister after joining his new employers.

The total number of AAP MPs expected to shift to the BJP is seven. That is significant because it skirts blowback under the anti-defection law, which states that at least two-thirds of lawmakers from a party must switch to avoid disqualification.

The AAP has 10 MPs in the Rajya Sabha - seven from Punjab and three from Delhi.

Chadha has said he former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh and ex-Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal will join him in switching parties, as will Rajinder Gupta and Vikram Sahney, in addition to Mittal and Pathak.

READ | Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh Among 7 AAP MPs Set To Join BJP

Maliwal figuring in that list is not unexpected; the 41-year-old's relationship with the party broke down completely in May 2024 after she accused Kejriwal's aide, Bibhav Kumar of assaulting her at the then-Chief Minister's residence.

The news kicked up a firestorm of political lamentations and sniping. Sanjay Singh lead the charge, tearing into Chadha for betraying a party that gave him a seat in the Rajya Sabha. "He has ended up in the BJP's lap," he raged.

READ | "Gave Everything To Raghav Chadha, Ended Up In BJP's Lap": AAP

It also laid bare a civil war. The AAP won three straight Delhi elections on the back of Kejriwal's anti-corruption crusade and 'everyman' image. But the streak stopped last year after his right-hand man, Manish Sisodia, and he were jailed in the liquor policy case and faced charges of financial irregularity over the expensive refurbishment of his chief ministerial bungalow.

The first signs of sniping between the factions broke cover April 2 after Kejriwal sacked Chadha as the party's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha and appointed Mittal instead. Sources close to Chadha told NDTV then the party wanted to 'silence him'.

All of this plays out ahead of the election in Punjab next year, when the AAP government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will ask voters for a second term. Chadha is regarded as having played a key role in helping the AAP win the last election.

Chadha became AAP's face as its national spokesperson and regularly appeared on TV debates. He was appointed the party's national treasurer at 26. In the 2020 Delhi election, he was elected from Rajinder Nagar and was appointed the vice-chairman of the Delhi Jal Board. In 2022, he was named AAP's Rajya Sabha pick.

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