Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, and Ashok Mittal quit AAP, then joined BJP on Friday after announcing a merger.
Raghav Chadha meeting BJP National President Nitin Nabin (Credits: PTI)
Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, and Ashok Mittal joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday, hours after resigning from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and announcing the merger.
The former AAP leaders met BJP National President Nitin Nabin at the party headquarters.
Earlier in the day, the AAP leaders addressed a press conference where they announced that more than two-thirds of the AAP Rajya Sabha MPs have decided to quit the party and will join the BJP as a separate faction.
Chadha claimed that party MPs Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal are also exiting the party.
“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.
The development comes shortly after Chadha was removed as AAP’s Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha and replaced by Mittal in the Upper House.
Besides the three leaders who joined BJP, three other former AAP MPs, including Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, and Vikram Sahney, also resigned.
Earlier this month, the AAP informed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat that Raghav Chadha had been removed from his position as the party’s Deputy Leader in the Upper House, and requested that he not be given speaking time. At the time, AAP had 10 Rajya Sabha members—seven from Punjab and three from Delhi.
April 24, 2026, 18:02 IST
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