New Delhi: Days after AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha joined the BJP along with six other AAP MPs, fresh reports have triggered political buzz that he is now attempting to mobilise more than 60 AAP MLAs in Punjab.
Chadha, long seen as a national face of AAP, had reportedly been at odds with party convenor Arvind Kejriwal in recent months. After he publicly praised the BJP government over low-cost food outlets at airports, AAP removed him from the post of deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha and appointed MP Ashok Mittal in his place. Chadha later posted indirect criticism of the party leadership on social media.
AAP currently has 10 Rajya Sabha MPs; with seven switching sides, the group is said to meet the two-thirds threshold, and is therefore expected to avoid disqualification under anti-defection provisions. The development has also raised the question of whether the split will echo in Punjab, where AAP has been in power since 2022 under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Punjab has 117 Assembly seats, with 59 needed for a majority. AAP holds 92 seats at present, and the next Assembly election is due next year. Reports cite discontent among MLAs, along with fear and resentment linked to investigations and Enforcement Directorate raids related to the Delhi excise policy case.
According to Delhi-based sources quoted in the report, Chadha has told BJP leaders that he already has the firm backing of 48 Punjab AAP MLAs and is working to raise the number to 63—seen as crucial to prevent individual MLAs from risking disqualification if only a smaller group breaks away. Social activist Anna Hazare was quoted as saying that if AAP’s leadership had been on the right path, the seven MPs would not have left.
