--- title: "Seven AAP MPs Join BJP | Model Diplomat" description: "Seven AAP MPs merging into the BJP, led by Raghav Chadha, marks a major shift in Indian politics, redrawing Rajya Sabha math and the opposition balance." url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/story/seven-aap-mps-join-bjp-a-major-shift-in-indian-politics" --- # Seven AAP MPs Join BJP Raghav Chadha leads AAP's Rajya Sabha MPs to BJP merger Model DiplomatApril 24, 20263 min readIndia [AgenciesRaghav Chadha, six AAP MPs join BJP - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/raghav-chadha-aap-mps-join-bjp/article70901275.ece)[Soni MishraRaghav Chadha-AAP Rift Explained: Rise to Fallout (2026) - Frontline](https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/raghav-chadha-aap-fallout/article70847076.ece)[The Hindu BureauParliament Budget Session Day 5 Highlights: Eight Opposition Lok Sabha MPs suspended for 'creating ruckus' - The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/parliament-budget-session-lok-sabha-rajya-sabha-the-hindu-live-updates-february-3-2026/article70586034.ece) ## Seven AAP MPs Jump to BJP, Gutting the Party's Rajya Sabha Bench *Raghav Chadha leads a constitutional merger of two-thirds of AAP's upper house bloc into the BJP — a body blow to Kejriwal's parliamentary standing.* **Seven Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MPs**, led by **Raghav Chadha**, formally merged with the **Bharatiya Janata Party** on **April 24, 2026** — stripping AAP of two-thirds of its upper house presence in a single press conference. The group includes **Sandeep Pathak**, AAP's former organisational secretary-general; **Ashok Mittal**, who had just been elevated to replace Chadha as RS deputy leader weeks earlier; cricketer-turned-politician **Harbhajan Singh**; **Swati Maliwal**, already long estranged from the party; **Rajinder Gupta**; and **Vikram Sahney**. [The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/raghav-chadha-aap-mps-join-bjp/article70901275.ece "thehindu.com") confirmed the merger announcement. ## Why This Is a Merger, Not a Defection The constitutional mechanics matter here. Under the **Tenth Schedule** of the Indian Constitution — the anti-defection law — an individual MP who switches parties loses their seat. But a merger is exempt *if* at least **two-thirds of a parliamentary party's members** consent. Chadha explicitly invoked this provision at the press conference. With **7 of AAP's \~10 Rajya Sabha MPs**, the threshold is cleanly met. Every one of the seven keeps their seat; none face disqualification. **BJP gains seven votes in the Rajya Sabha at zero electoral cost.** ## The Collapse Was in Slow Motion This didn't come from nowhere. Chadha's rift with party leadership had been building publicly for months. AAP **demoted him from deputy leader** in the Rajya Sabha in early April 2026 — replacing him with Mittal, who has now also defected — after Punjab leaders accused Chadha of failing to raise state-specific issues in Parliament. Chadha's response on X — "Silenced, not defeated" — now reads as a countdown. [Frontline](https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/raghav-chadha-aap-fallout/article70847076.ece "frontline.thehindu.com") traced the rupture back through months of mutual recrimination with **Arvind Kejriwal's** inner circle. The deeper context: **AAP has suffered a series of institutional blows since 2024**, including Kejriwal's corruption-linked arrest and the party's loss of power in Delhi in February 2025. Without a state government to anchor its resources and patronage, the glue holding ambitious MPs in place dissolved. Chadha, Pathak, and Maliwal all had independent national profiles — exactly the type who calculate they have more to gain inside the BJP tent than in a diminished opposition party. ## Who Wins, Who Loses **BJP** consolidates further in the Rajya Sabha, reducing the already-limited friction on legislation from the upper house. For [India's political landscape](https://modeldiplomat.com/discover/india "modeldiplomat.com"), it signals that the INDIA bloc's upper house arithmetic is eroding without a single by-election fought. **Kejriwal and AAP** lose their most telegenic MPs. Chadha was the party's English-language face and a Punjab electoral architect. Pathak ran the organisational machinery. Losing both in one move leaves a skeletal parliamentary operation — and raises serious questions about whether AAP can credibly contest the **2027 Punjab assembly elections** as a governing party. **Swati Maliwal's** inclusion is largely symbolic; she had already accused AAP insiders of assault in 2024 and had been effectively operating outside the party for over a year. ### What to Watch Next Three pressure points: First, **Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan's formal recognition** of the merger — expected within days — will confirm whether the two-thirds calculation holds under scrutiny. Second, **Kejriwal's response**: whether AAP attempts a legal challenge to the merger's validity or pivots to damage control. Third, the **Punjab angle** — Chief Minister **Bhagwant Mann** now leads an AAP government whose parliamentary backbone has just been pulled out from under it, with assembly elections due in **early 2027**. How Mann positions himself relative to this defection will define AAP's survival as a national force. 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