New Delhi. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leader Arvind Kejriwal have faced a significant blow. The Rajya Sabha Chairman has approved the proposal for seven AAP MPs, including Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak, to join the BJP. A notification has been issued by the Rajya Sabha, listing these seven leaders among the BJP members.
With the inclusion of these seven AAP MPs, the total number of BJP MPs in the Rajya Sabha has risen to 113, which includes five members nominated by the President.
The AAP MPs who have joined the BJP are Ashok Kumar Mittal, Raghav Chadha, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Vikramjeet Singh Sahni, Swati Maliwal, and Rajendra Gupta.
It is noteworthy that on Friday, Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak announced their decision to join the BJP. BJP President Nitin Nabin welcomed the MPs to the party with sweets. Following the merger of these seven MPs into the BJP, AAP now has only three MPs remaining: Sanjay Singh, Narayan Das Gupta, and Sant Balbir Singh.
In response to the defection of the MPs, AAP leader Sanjay Singh expressed his outrage. During a press conference, he labeled the departure of the seven MPs from AAP as illegal. Singh called for the cancellation of the membership of Raghav Chadha and the other MPs, claiming that the BJP acted against the rules. Despite this, the MPs have received approval to join the BJP. AAP leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also expressed his anger towards Raghav Chadha, labeling him a 'traitor.'