Following a major political jolt to an already weakened Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the party is preparing to move a petition seeking the disqualification of seven Rajya Sabha MPs under the anti-defection law
after senior leader Raghav Chadha announced his decision to quit the party and join the BJP, sources told CNN-News18.
Read more: Raghav Chadha, 6 Other AAP MPs Quit Party, Announce Merger With BJP
According to sources, AAP is expected to name Raghav Chadha among the seven MPs it wants disqualified. The list is also likely to include Sandeep Pathak, Swati Maliwal and four other Rajya Sabha members who are said to be backing the split.
The dramatic development comes after Raghav Chadha was sidelined within the party hierarchy, a move that had triggered speculation over widening cracks between the young leader and the AAP top brass.
Addressing a press conference alongside senior MPs Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak, Raghav Chadha said nearly two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha members would move with him to the BJP.
Read more: Raghav Chadha, 6 MPs Quit AAP: The Leaders Who Left Arvind Kejriwal
“The AAP that I gave 15 years of my life to has moved away from honest politics. I am the right man in the wrong party. I am moving away from the party and going close to the people,” Raghav Chadha said.
He also accused the party, once propelled to power in Delhi on an anti-corruption plank, of straying from its founding ideals.
Among the names Raghav Chadha said would join the BJP were Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal, one of AAP’s more recognisable public faces.
The anti-defection law, contained in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, allows disqualification of lawmakers who voluntarily give up membership of their party or defy party directions. However, the matter may hinge on whether the breakaway faction can establish a valid merger claim or numerical threshold under parliamentary rules.
For Arvind Kejriwal, the setback comes at a politically sensitive moment, with AAP attempting to consolidate after recent electoral and organisational turbulence.
