The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), founded by Arvind Kejriwal after the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare, is facing renewed turbulence as senior leaders continue to leave the organisation.
AAP first entered power in Delhi in 2013 by winning 28 seats and forming a government with Congress support. It went on to secure a landslide in 2015 with 67 of 70 seats and won 62 seats in 2020, later forming a majority government in Punjab—gaining national attention and state party status.
However, the party has faced multiple challenges in recent years, including corruption allegations and political shifts in Delhi. The report notes that resignations from key posts began as early as 2015 and have continued.
In the latest development, seven of AAP’s 10 Rajya Sabha MPs resigned in a single day and joined the BJP, citing corruption allegations and claiming the party had moved away from its core principles. The MPs named were Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal.
The report also lists earlier high-profile exits over the years—some linked to internal power struggles and others to dissatisfaction with the leadership—adding that the churn could pose a major challenge for AAP in the upcoming Punjab and Delhi elections.
