Raghav Chadha quits AAP, says two-thirds of party’s Rajya Sabha MPs to merge with BJP

In a dramatic political development, Raghav Chadha on April 24 announced that he, along with two-thirds of the Aam Aadmi Party members in the Rajya Sabha, had decided to invoke constitutional provisions to merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Addressing a press conference alongside Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, Chadha said the AAP had strayed from its founding principles, values and core ideology. He alleged that the party was no longer working in the national interest but was driven by personal gains.

Chadha said he had increasingly felt like “the right man in the wrong party” over the past few years and had therefore chosen to distance himself from AAP leadership. He added that the decision to merge with the BJP was taken under provisions applicable to party defections and mergers in the Upper House.

The announcement, if formally completed, would mark a major setback for AAP in Parliament, particularly in the Rajya Sabha where the party has relied heavily on its Punjab contingent. Chadha has been one of the party’s most visible national faces and among its key parliamentary speakers.

The development comes weeks after internal tensions surfaced within AAP when Chadha was removed as the party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha and replaced by Ashok Mittal, fuelling speculation over differences with the party leadership.

There was no immediate official response from AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal or the BJP on the announcement. Further clarity is expected once formal documentation is submitted before the Rajya Sabha Secretariat and the Election Commission.