India’s political landscape has changed dramatically. Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan has given the nod to the merger of seven AAP lawmakers into the BJP, a move that has effectively gutted the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) presence in the upper house.
The defection, led by prominent face Raghav Chadha, takes the BJP’s Rajya Sabha tally to a strong 113, leaving the AAP with just three representatives in the House.
The ‘Great Escape’: Who are the seven MPs?
The merger includes some of the most prominent names from the AAP’s Punjab and Delhi units:
1. Raghav Chadha
2. Sandeep Pathak
3. Harbhajan Singh (Cricketer turned politician)
4. Swati Maliwal
5. Mittal Ashok
6. Vikramjit Singh Sahney
7. Rajinder Gupta
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju welcomed the move on X (formerly Twitter) and said, “Welcome to nation building NDA under the visionary leadership of PM Narendra Modi. He also criticised the opposition, referring to the move as a farewell to the “Tukde-Tukde INDI Alliance.”.
Why the Change? Raghav Chadha slams ‘toxic’ work culture
Raghav Chadha did not hold back in a candid video released on Monday. Chadha said the AAP is not the idealistic party it once used to be, despite him being a co-founder and having put in “15 years of his prime youth” in the party. “You are stopped from doing your work, from speaking in Parliament. ‘This party is run by a corrupt few… I felt like I was the right person in the wrong party,’ said Chadha.
He confronted the “toxic workplace” culture by asking the public a pointed question: “One or two people can be wrong, but can seven people be wrong?”
The Impact : Punjab Arithmetic in Reverse
The blow is particularly devastating for the AAP, in Punjab. Six of the seven who left were from the border state. The exodus leaves the party with just one member in the Rajya Sabha from Punjab — Balbir Singh Seechewal — effectively decimating the AAP’s monopoly in the state in the Upper House.
BJP’s strategic win
The BJP has been quick to laud the behaviour of the new inductees. Minister Rijiju pointed out these seven MPs have always maintained parliamentary decorum and have never used abusive language or indiscipline – a subtle contrast to the often combative relationship between the BJP and the rest of the AAP leadership.
