Why Sandeep Pathak's shocking exit is bigger setback for AAP

Two-thirds of AAP's Rajya Sabha MPs merged with the BJP, but Sandeep Pathak's defection shocked the party given his role as Arvind Kejriwal's key strategist and staunch BJP critic.

In Short

• Two-thirds of AAP Rajya Sabha MPs merged with BJP unexpectedly
• Sandeep Pathak's defection shocked AAP leadership deeply
• Pathak was once Kejriwal’s key strategist and close aide

When two-thirds of the Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MPs announced their legislative party’s merger with the BJP, it did not come as a shock to the party’s top leadership. They had, in fact, been bracing for such a jolt.

Yet one name on the list stood out, Sandeep Pathak. Reflecting the mood within the party, a senior AAP leader told me, “I could never have imagined that Sandeep would abandon AAP, let alone join the BJP.”

WHAT CAUSED THIS SHOCK?

Pathak had long been among the AAP’s most vocal critics of the BJP. Known as a backroom operator, he built a reputation since 2022 as a strict organisational strategist. Focused almost exclusively on political planning, he was seen as clinical in execution, a man driven by numbers, surveys, and results.

In many ways, he was regarded as Arvind Kejriwal’s “Chanakya”, AAP’s own version of Amit Shah.

Until early 2025, Pathak effectively called the shots within the party. During the AAP chief’s absence due to the excise policy case, he handled multiple responsibilities, from steering organisational decisions to driving tough negotiations with the Congress, particularly in Haryana. However, 2025 marked a turning point. His distance from Kejriwal and the party’s central strategy widened — a setback from which he never fully recovered.

Raghav Chadha’s rebellion and eventual switch to the BJP had already signalled the direction of events. As someone closely tracking AAP, I had expected the next chapter in the Chadha saga to unfold around August 2026. Instead, the deal was sealed much earlier. The “merger” was executed on a hot April afternoon, catching many off guard as an unexpected “khela” unfolded in Delhi. The timing was striking — Prime Minister Narendra Modi had just concluded a rally in West Bengal’s Panihati, and speculation about a BJP boost in Punjab had begun circulating in the capital.

WHAT TRANSPIRED IN LAST 24 HOURS

Sources familiar with the developments revealed that one of the seven AAP MPs who joined the BJP on Friday had, in fact, met a senior AAP leader as recently as April 23. The discussions were extensive.

“There were clear indications that some AAP leaders were planning to switch sides. This MP was part of internal discussions on possible scenarios,” a source said. What the leadership did not realise, however, was that the same MP was also among those preparing to defect.

Ashok Mittal had been raided by the Enforcement Directorate on April 15, with AAP alleging that Raghav Chadha had played a role in facilitating the action in coordination with BJP leaders. Vikramjit Sahney, an industrialist, switching sides did not come as a major surprise, particularly after the Mittal-ED episode. Swati Maliwal, meanwhile, had already been at odds with the party since the alleged “slapgate” incident at 6 Flagstaff Road.

Efforts were also made from Chandigarh to contain the fallout, particularly in the case of one senior leader. According to sources, repeated attempts were made to reach cricketer and AAP MP Harbhajan Singh, but “calls from Chandigarh went unanswered.”

Within AAP, Pathak’s defection remains particularly unsettling. However, another senior leader offered a more critical assessment: “His strategies were exposed during the Delhi 2025 battle. He had a tendency to overpromise and underdeliver. His claims of organisational expansion in Delhi did not hold up, and even the party chief questioned him on this.” The leader added that Pathak had been sidelined in decision-making during the Delhi elections for these reasons.

The AAP is now expected to ask its Rajya Sabha Chief Whip, ND Gupta, to initiate action against Pathak, Chadha, and Ashok Mittal under the anti-defection law. Whether this will yield any tangible results remains uncertain. What is clear, however, is that within less than 30 days, the party has lost its national organisational general secretary, Kejriwal’s trusted aide, and its deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha.

- Ends