AAP has 10 MPs in Rajya Sabha. If seven of them leave together, that would exceed the two-thirds mark required under the anti-defection law to avoid disqualification.
AAP’s political crisis got messier on Friday. Seven Rajya Sabha MPs, led by Raghav Chadha, have announced that they are leaving the party. Chadha said all seven had merged with the BJP, but only a handful of them had clearly confirmed the move. The rest? It’s still not clear.
Dropping the big bomb, Chadha said the group had taken a collective decision. “We have decided that we, two-thirds of the members belonging to AAP in the Rajya Sabha, exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge with the BJP,” he said at a press conference, sitting alongside Sandeep Pathak.
He added that all the seven MPs signed a letter and submitted it to Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan. Of those named, three are clearly on record – Raghav Chadha, Pathak and Ashok Mittal, who replaced Chadha as Deputy Speaker of the Rajya Sabha a few days ago. The trio later met BJP president Nitin Nabin and joined the BJP.
Where are the other four?
Of the remaining four, only Vikram Sahni has confirmed his move publicly. “I believe that as part of the BJP, I will be able to serve Punjab and its people with greater dedication and effectiveness with the support of the Centre,” Sahni said in a post on X.
He also spoke about the situation in Punjab, describing it as a “shared passion, legacy and responsibility” and stressed the need to work with the Center to achieve stability and growth.
Swati Maliwal also confirmed that she will leave the AAP, but did not say whether she would join the BJP. Its focus was to attack the party leadership, especially Arvind Kejriwal.
“It is with great sadness today that I must say that the principles, values and determination for honest politics with which we started this journey have been abandoned by Arvind Kejriwal and, at his behest, by the entire AAP,” she said.
She also repeated the allegations of assault against her, and said: “I was threatened with my death, and every effort was made against me.”
For now, her next political move remains unclear.
Harbhajan Singh and Rajendra Gupta – whom I also called Chadha – have not confirmed anything publicly yet.
Why is this important?
AAP currently has 10 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. If seven of them leave together, that would exceed the two-thirds mark required under the anti-defection law to avoid disqualification. This is the main legal point on which Chadha relies.
If accepted, the AAP will be left with just three representatives in the Senate – a significant reduction.
AAP leaders call this treason. Soon after Chadha’s press, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann did not hold back: “Let me be clear – none of them are capable of becoming even a village sarpanch on their own merit.”
Meanwhile, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said he would ask for the disqualification of some MPs, arguing that they had left the party voluntarily. He also accused the BJP of engineering the switch.
The big picture: a problem for the AAP
The controversy comes at a crucial moment for the AAP, which has now come to power in Punjab only after losing Delhi last year, and is gearing up for the 2027 Assembly elections.
A decline in attendance in the Rajya Sabha may also weaken the party’s role in the national opposition, while bringing the ruling alliance closer to a two-thirds majority in the Senate.
Priyanshu Priya is a journalist with nearly three years of newsroom experience, driven by a deep belief that stories, when told right, can shape conversations and hold power to account. Currently working as a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times, she writes on a wide range of issues, from Indian politics and public concerns in Delhi to global trade tensions and high-stakes crime stories. Priya joined HT at a pivotal moment, as Operation Sindoor was unfolding, and has since covered some of the most defining developments of recent times. Her reporting covers the Indian Airlines plane crash and the Pahalgam terror attack to India-US trade tensions, unrest in the Middle East, and key Assembly elections across the states. She thrives in the fast-paced world of breaking news. From 2025 to 2026, she was honored by the Hindustan Times Digi Giorno for the third quarter award for attracting more than 4 million page views in a single month. A graduate in English Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) and a Mass Media graduate from Patna Women’s College, Priya began her news career with the Zee News English team, where she extensively covered the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, along with the Delhi and Maharashtra Assembly elections. When she’s not tracking or writing the next big development, she relaxes by watching TV series and movies, reading books with strong heroines, and revisiting comforting offerings of the familiar ease they bring when life feels too stressful.Read more
