Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal join BJP

In a big jolt to the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday, three of its Rajya Sabha MPs, including Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, quit the party and joined the BJP in presence of Nitin Nabin at party headquarters in Delhi.

Raghav says Harbhajan and Swati Maliwal are also quitting AAP

Earlier in the day while addressing a press conference, Raghav Chadha, flanked by Pathak and Mittal, said that two-thirds of the Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MPs have quit the party and will join the BJP as a faction. Raghav Chadha said that party MPs Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal are also quitting the AAP.

“AAP, that I nurtured with my blood and sweat and to which I gave 15 years of my youth, has completely strayed from its principles, values and core morals,” he said. Raghav Chadha was recently removed as the deputy leader of AAP in the Rajya Sabha and was replaced by Mittal in the Upper House.

 Aam Aadmi Party has 10 MPs in Rajya Sabha

“In the Rajya Sabha, the Aam Aadmi Party has 10 MPs. More than two-thirds of them are with us in this initiative. They have already signed, and this morning we submitted all the required documentation, including signed letters and other formal paperwork, to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha,” Chadha told reporters.

Hitting out at Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, Chadha said that the party is no longer working for the country, but for its own benefit. “Over the past few years, I have increasingly felt that I am the right person in the wrong party. Today, I announce my decision to move away from AAP and work more closely with the ‘janata’ (public),” he said.

Another Rajya Sabha MP, Sandeep Pathak, said that he had never thought that this situation would arise, but it has. “For 10 years, I remained associated with this party. And today, I am parting ways with the Aam Aadmi Party,” Pathak said.

AAP has deviated from its principles: Raghav Chadha 

Raghav said “The AAP, which I nurtured with my blood and sweat, and gave 15 years of my youth to, has deviated from its principles, values and core morals. Now this party does not work in the interest of the nation but for its personal benefits…For the past few years, I could feel that I am the right man in the wrong party. So, today, we announce that I am distancing myself from the AAP and getting close to the public,” he said.

Raghav Chadha had hit back at the allegations, calling it a “coordinated attack” and denying claims that he refused to walk out of Parliament or sign an impeachment motion against the Chief Election Commissioner.