--- title: "Raghav Chadha's Defection | Model Diplomat" description: "Raghav Chadha's defection to the BJP signals a major shift in Punjab politics, eroding AAP's stronghold and reshaping the field ahead of the 2027 elections." url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/story/raghav-chadhas-defection-aaps-punjab-stronghold-erodes" --- # Raghav Chadha's Defection Chadha leads six MPs to BJP, shaking AAP's Punjab base. Model DiplomatApril 25, 20263 min readPunjab [Devesh K. PandeyRaghav Chadha and 6 AAP Rajya Sabha MPs join BJP ... - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/raghav-chadha-aap-mps-join-bjp/article70901275.ece)[PTI'Punjab de Gaddar': AAP holds protests outside residences of MPs ...](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/punjab/punjab-aap-holds-protests-outside-residences-of-mps-who-quit-to-join-bjp/article70905710.ece)[Soni MishraRaghav Chadha-AAP Rift Explained: Rise to Fallout (2026) - Frontline](https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/raghav-chadha-aap-fallout/article70847076.ece) ## AAP's Punjab Fortress Cracks as Chadha Leads Seven MPs to BJP *Raghav Chadha's defection to the BJP — taking six Rajya Sabha colleagues with him — is the most damaging internal rupture AAP has faced since its 2022 Punjab sweep.* **Raghav Chadha**, once the architect of AAP's historic **92-seat Punjab mandate in 2022** and Arvind Kejriwal's most prominent national face in the Rajya Sabha, has formally crossed the floor to the BJP, bringing **six other AAP Rajya Sabha MPs** with him. The move hands the BJP-led NDA a stronger position in the upper house and strips AAP of its most media-savvy parliamentary operator — all with Punjab's **2027 assembly elections** already visible on the horizon. Punjab Chief Minister **Bhagwant Mann** responded with a pointed social media post — the now-circulating "sabzi" ("vegetables") jibe — framing the defectors as wilted goods no longer fit for the party's table. The messaging was deliberate: Mann is trying to contain the political optics of a mass exit by mocking it rather than mourning it. **Nayab Saini**, the BJP's Haryana Chief Minister and a key attack voice against AAP in the region, called Mann's post an "insult" to the departing MPs — a counter-frame designed to position BJP as a dignified destination and AAP as a party that demeans its own. ## What the Defection Actually Signals The break was months in the making. AAP had already stripped Chadha of his **Rajya Sabha deputy leadership** role, replacing him with **Ashok Mittal** — one of the MPs now also crossing over. Punjab Finance Minister **Harpal Singh Cheema** and AAP Punjab president **Aman Arora** had publicly accused Chadha of failing to raise Punjab issues in Parliament, including stalled flood relief and Rural Development Fund disbursements. Bhagwant Mann had gone further, calling Chadha "[compromised](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/raghav-chadha-is-compromised-says-bhagwant-mann/article70819593.ece "thehindu.com")" — unusually blunt language between former allies. The BJP gains more than seats. **Chadha is a fundraiser, communicator, and Punjab-networked operator** who knows exactly where AAP's vulnerabilities in the state lie. The NDA's Rajya Sabha bloc now sits at **141 seats** post-merger, according to [The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/raghav-chadha-aap-mps-join-bjp/article70901275.ece "thehindu.com") — not a majority, but a materially stronger position heading into the monsoon session. AAP's Punjab cadre responded with protests outside defectors' homes in **Ludhiana and Jalandhar**, spray-painting "**Gaddar**" (traitor) on walls — [a sign](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/punjab/punjab-aap-holds-protests-outside-residences-of-mps-who-quit-to-join-bjp/article70905710.ece "thehindu.com") of genuine grassroots anger, but also of a party that has lost control of the narrative for now. AAP is calling this "**Operation Lotus**" — BJP's alleged playbook of poaching opposition legislators — a framing that deflects blame but doesn't change the arithmetic. ### What to Watch Next The real test is Punjab 2027. Chadha's value to BJP isn't in Delhi corridors — it's in whether he can peel away AAP's consolidated Dalit and urban vote in cities like **Ludhiana and Jalandhar**. Mann understands this, which is why his response was ridicule rather than engagement: treating Chadha as irrelevant is the only move that doesn't amplify him. Watch three things: **ED activity against remaining AAP MPs** (raids on Ashok Mittal's business premises on April 15 preceded his defection — [the pattern is notable](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/punjab/punjab-chief-minister-condemns-ed-raids-against-aap-mp-ashok-mittal-bjp-hits-back/article70864572.ece "thehindu.com")); whether **Kejriwal** moves to shore up the Rajya Sabha vacancy math before the monsoon session; and how Chadha is deployed by BJP ahead of any Punjab by-elections. His first press conference as a BJP figure — and what he says about Mann — will set the template for the next eighteen months of [Punjab politics](https://modeldiplomat.com/discover/india "modeldiplomat.com"). 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