The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffered a major setback when seven of its Rajya Sabha MPs—Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikram Sahni and Swati Maliwal—switched sides and merged with the BJP, alleging that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party had strayed from its principles, values and core morals.
This was the largest coordinated defection in the Upper House in recent years. Three of them—Chadha, Mittal and Pathak—have already joined the BJP and the remaining are expected to join the saffron fold soon.
Chadha said at a press conference that the seven MPs had merged with the BJP as the AAP was no longer honouring its founding principles.
"The AAP, that I nurtured with my blood and sweat and to which I gave 15 years of my youth, has completely strayed from its principles, values and core morals," he said.
Who are the seven?
Chadha, who joined AAP at its inception in 2012, was among the party's founding members and helped draft the Delhi Lokpal Bill the same year. A chartered accountant by profession, he later emerged as the party's television face and became its youngest national spokesperson.
Maliwal was elected to the Rajya Sabha from AAP in 2024. Before that, she served as the chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women. She became critical of the party in May 2024 after alleging that she was assaulted at the residence of then Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Sandeep Pathak, one of the MPs who quit AAP, said his academic journey began at Cambridge University before he moved to the University of Oxford and later the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He returned to India and became a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
Pathak joined AAP in 2022 and was elected to the Rajya Sabha the same year. He was also appointed the party's in-charge for Gujarat and co-in-charge for Punjab.
Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh joined AAP in 2022 before entering the Rajya Sabha. He is also known for his work as a sports commentator and actor.
Ashok Mittal, founder and chancellor of Lovely Professional University, also joined AAP in 2022 and was elected to the Rajya Sabha. In 2024, he was chosen as a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.
Rajinder Gupta, a businessman and industrialist, became a Rajya Sabha MP from AAP in 2025. He was awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions to trade and industry.
Vikram Sahney, also a Padma Shri awardee, joined the party in 2022. He had earlier received the International Peace Award from the President of Mauritius.
AAP cries betrayal
Allegations and counter-allegations followed, with the AAP chief, Arvind Kejriwal, claiming that the BJP betrayed the people of Punjab–of the seven, six come from Punjab, including Chadha, Pathak, Mittal, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahni, and Harbhajan Singh—while state Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann termed the seven MPs "gaddar" (traitors).
AAP leaders accused the saffron party of launching "Operation Lotus" to break away party MPs and of conspiring to stop the Mann government's good work in Punjab.
"Everyone knows that BJP has no leader in Punjab. Everyone also knows that Congress is almost finished there. So, this time, they (BJP) broke away AAP leaders. But I can tell you that Punjabis are watching that the 7 MPs who were sent to the Parliament by them have now supported a party which killed 800 farmers. BJP calls farmers terrorists, and these 7 MPs supported them today. This is no less than 'gaddari'. Public will give a reply to this," said AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar.
Some AAP sources also claimed that the move was designed to destabilise the party before the assembly elections in Punjab next year.
Threat of Central agencies?
According to news agency PTI, AAP insiders claim that action by central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could have played a part in influencing the decision of some of the MPs who were businessmen from Punjab, while the others were unhappy with their shrinking political role within the party.
On April 15, the ED conducted raids at business entities linked to AAP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal in Punjab as part of a FEMA probe.
Pathak, who was the national general secretary, was feeling sidelined as his role was restricted to just the day-to-day affairs of the party, they said.
AAP, the 'B team': Congress targets Kejriwal
After the sudden exit, even as the AAP has been trying to grapple with the new reality, the Congress launched an attack on AAP, reiterating that the AAP is the "B team" of the BJP, with Congress leader Mumtaz Patel saying Kejriwal may also join the BJP in the coming days.
"AAP was born as a 'B' team of the BJP to harm the Congress party...AAP has only helped the BJP wherever they contest the elections...Arvind Kejriwal may also join the BJP in the coming days," she said.
Congress leader Rajendra Pal Gautam alleged that the entire Anna andolan was orchestrated by the BJP and the RSS and added that the leaders who are left in the AAP will also join the BJP in the coming days.
Congress national spokesperson Shama Mohamed said she is not shocked or surprised, as the AAP was born out of the BJP and the RSS, and these leaders are merely returning to their parents.
