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

The AAP accused Raghav Chadha of betrayal and stated that the people of Punjab and India will answer at the right time.

24 Apr 2026, 10:10 · www.ndtv.com

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Raghav Chadha announced joining BJP with many AAP Rajya Sabha MPs
About two-thirds of AAP MPs in Rajya Sabha to move to BJP, Chadha said
Chadha accused AAP of abandoning honest politics and corruption fight

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New Delhi:

Raghav Chadha has announced he will join the BJP, taking away with him a big chunk of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s Rajya Sabha MPs, in a move that deals a major blow to party chief and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who had demoted him weeks earlier.

About two-thirds of the AAP's 10 MPs in the Upper House would merge with the BJP, Chadha said at a press conference this afternoon, accusing the party that once came to power in Delhi over promises to fight corruption, of moving away from honest politics.

Raghav Chadha's Big Move: Live Updates

"We have signed and sent it (the decision to merge with the BJP) to the chairman of Rajya Sabha," he said.

The AAP stated it would seek the disqualification of Chadha and the two other MPs who announced their exit today, while Kejriwal slammed the BJP for "betraying the Punjabis".

The country's anti-defection law exempts cases where two-thirds of lawmakers of a party decides to merge with another.

'AAP is Corrupt, Compromised'

Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal are among those merging with the BJP, he said, listing the names of Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney, Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak as the four other leaders.

"The AAP that I gave 15 years of my life. Now the party has stepped away from the honest politics. I am the right man in the wrong party. I am moving away from the party and going close to people. Today, the AAP is corrupt and compromised," the 37-year-old leader said.

After the big-ticket exits, the three Rajya Sabha MPs who remain in AAP are Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, Sanjay Singh, and ND Gupta.

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

Sources suggest that Chadha could be made a Union Minister after he joins the BJP.

Chadha had been with the AAP since its inception in 2012, working as a trusted lieutenant to Kejriwal, who stormed into power in Delhi in 2015 riding the wave that followed the anti-corruption movement.

Justifying his move to switch to the BJP, Chadha said that AAP is no more the same party that it used to be.

"I was the founding member of this party. We, with full commitment established the party in Punjab, Delhi and other parts. Today, AAP is corrupt and compromised. The AAP is not the old party. I don't want to engage in the wrongdoings of AAP," he added.

He said he had only two options: either leave politics or do the right rights. He chose the second, he indicated, adding, "We, the two-thirds sitting member AAP from Rajya Sabha will merge with the BJP."

Read: Raghav Chadha Reveals "Real Reason" Why He, 6 AAP MPs Are Joining BJP

Pathak, who addressed the presser alongside Chadha, said he had been thinking about resigning from the AAP for the past six-seven months.

Swati Maliwal, who had in 2024 alleged that she was assaulted by one of Kejriwal's aides, said the AAP and Kejriwal had abandoned the principles, values, and resolve for honest politics with which the party had started.

"Seeing the unchecked corruption growing in the Aam Aadmi Party under Kejriwal ji's patronage, incidents of harassment and assault against women, the promotion of thuggish elements, and the betrayal and looting happening with Punjab, I have decided to leave the party today," she said in an online post.

The AAP Hits Back

Minutes after Chadha's press meet, the AAP addressed the media and slammed the BJP, accusing its former leader of betrayal. In a strongly worded remark, senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that the party made Chadha an MP, but he ended up in BJP's lap.

Read: Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh: Raghav Chadha Names 7 AAP MPs Joining BJP

"The BJP has done the work of obstructing the good works done by the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government. Seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs are joining the BJP. The people of Punjab should remember these seven names. The people of Punjab will never forget them," Singh said.

Singh said he will also write to the Rajya Sabha Chairman, demanding that Chadha, Mittal, and Pathak be disqualified as MPs for joining the BJP as "this is tantamount to voluntarily relinquishing membership of their original party under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution."

Kejriwal, the party chief, made a one-line post: "The BJP has once again betrayed the Punjabis."

A Rift That Played Out In Public

Chadha's merger with the BJP wasn't unexpected. It follows a massive controversy that erupted earlier this month after the AAP removed him as its deputy leader in Rajya Sabha, a move that made their apparent rift public. The AAP had also requested the Rajya Sabha Chairman that Chadha should not be allotted time from the party's quota to speak in the House.

The young leader confronted the move in video messages, calling it a "scripted campaign" and "coordinated action" against him.

The AAP had then accused Chadha of not joining the opposition during parliament walkouts, refusal to sign the impeachment motion against the chief election commissioner, and of raising only trivial issues since he had become "scared".

The allegations had zero truth, he had responded. "Every lie will be exposed, and every question will be answered. For I am wounded and therefore, I am lethal," he had said in one of his videos.

The AAP-led Punjab government had also withdrawn Z-plus security for Chadha earlier this month. Shortly after, the Union Home Ministry stepped in and offered the security cover to the MP.

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