Published Apr 24, 2026 | 4:58 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 24, 2026 | 4:58 PM
Raghav Chada
Synopsis: AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on 24 April, said that more than two-thirds of the party’s MPs in the Upper House had decided to merge with the BJP. The move follows weeks-long friction with the party and speculation about his possible switch to the saffron party.
In a surprise announcement, Raghav Chadha, Rajya Sabha MP of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on Friday, 24 April said that he, along with more than two-thirds of the party’s members in the Upper House, has decided to merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“We have decided that we, the 2/3rd members belonging to the AAP in Rajya Sabha, exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge ourselves with the BJP. In the Rajya Sabha, the Aam Aadmi Party has 10 MPs. More than two-thirds of them are with us in this initiative,” Raghav Chadha said, addressing a press conference alongside fellow AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal.
“They have already signed, and this morning we submitted all the required documentation, including signed letters and other formal paperwork, to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Three of them are present here before you. In addition, there is world-class cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikram Sahney, and Swati Maliwal.”
The announcement comes weeks after Chadha’s removal from the post of deputy leader of the AAP in the Upper House.
The party had written to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to that effect on 2 April and also requested that he not be allotted speaking time from AAP’s quota in the Rajya Sabha.
Soon after, former Delhi Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Atishi publicly criticised Chadha for his prolonged absence from key party events and alleged silence on sensitive issues in Parliament. Speculation had also been rife that he was considering joining the BJP.
Notably, Mittal, who is also the founding chancellor of Lovely Professional University, had replaced Chadha as the Rajya Sabha deputy leader.
At the time, he had described Raghav Chadha’s removal as a “routine” procedure. But soon after, his residence in Jalandhar, Punjab, was raided by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
