Raghav Chadha, Six Other AAP MPs Defect To BJP

NEW DELHI-Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha on April 24 said he, along with six other party MPs, had submitted signed documents to the Rajya Sabha Chairman seeking recognition of a split in the party’s Upper House unit and merger with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Addressing a press conference alongside fellow Rajya Sabha members Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, Chadha said seven of the AAP’s 10 Rajya Sabha members were backing the move.

Soon after, he said on X that the group had submitted a “letter of intent” to the Chairman. “Today, exercising the provisions of the Constitution of India, more than two-thirds of the AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha have merged with the BJP. Seven MPs have signed the document, which was submitted to the Hon’ble Chairman of the Rajya Sabha,” Chadha wrote.

Chadha further said he, along with two other MPs, personally handed over the signed documents to the Chairman. If accepted, the move would reduce the AAP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha from 10 members to three, based on Chadha’s claim of support from seven lawmakers.

The MPs Chadha named as part of the proposed merger were Swati Maliwal, former cricketer and Rajya Sabha member Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta and Vikram Sahni, in addition to himself.

The development came days after Chadha’s removal from the post of Deputy Leader of the AAP in the Rajya Sabha, reportedly over differences on raising issues against the government.

Before the announcement, the AAP had 10 members in the Rajya Sabha, with seven elected from Punjab and three from Delhi. (IANS)