Before seven AAP MPs, led by Raghav Chadha, joined the BJP, efforts had already begun to make promises and assurances within the Aam Aadmi Party. A meeting was even called. But before that could happen, everything slipped out of Arvind Kejriwal’s hands.
Published: April 25, 2026 2:25 PM IST
The biggest split in the Aam Aadmi Party suggests that the top leadership was fully aware of the internal discontent. Therefore, meetings and reassurance efforts were underway. However, it appears that party chief Arvind Kejriwal failed to anticipate that most of his party’s Rajya Sabha MPs had sealed a deal with the BJP. Now, details are emerging about what transpired within the party before the Aam Aadmi Party MPs joined the BJP.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal had assured at least five of the MPs who left the party that they would be given tickets in the next term if they resigned from Rajya Sabha membership in view of the discontent within the party.
Quit before Arvind Kejriwal’s meeting
According to the report, Arvind Kejriwal had called those leaders to his residence on Friday evening to discuss all these issues, but before the meeting could take place, Raghav Chadha, on behalf of 7 out of 10 Rajya Sabha MPs of AAP , announced their decision to leave the party and merge with BJP.
MPs who were being promised tickets again
It is believed that the five MPs to whom Arvind Kejriwal was promising future tickets if they resigned could include Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikram Sahni. The party’s top leadership already had a serious dispute with Swati Maliwal, and the situation had recently deteriorated significantly with Raghav Chadha.
There was no preparation to leave ‘AAP’ in the group earlier
The report quoted sources as saying that former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had told him that if he resigns now, he will definitely be given a ticket in the next term.
But, perhaps Kejriwal did not realise that his MPs had already decided to leave AAP and join BJP.
According to the source, before Kejriwal called them for a meeting, the MPs had not come together as a group to leave the party, but all of them had decided to leave the Aam Aadmi Party at their own level.
What will happen next with the Aam Aadmi Party?
The Aam Aadmi Party’s political crisis began early last year (February 2025) when the BJP ousted it from power in the Delhi Assembly elections. Following the joining of seven Rajya Sabha MPs to the BJP, speculation has begun that 16 Delhi MLAs may also leave the AAP . Next year’s Punjab Assembly elections pose a significant challenge for the party, as failing to return to power there could threaten its national party status.
