Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffered its most devastating parliamentary blow yet on Friday as seven of its Rajya Sabha MPs, including former party loyalist Swati Maliwal and one-time deputy leader Raghav Chadha, formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party — with Maliwal delivering a searing public attack on AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of orchestrating physical assault against her, suppressing her voice in Parliament, and running a party defined by “corruption and gundagardi.”
Swati Maliwal Joins BJP: What She Said and Why
Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday, delivering a blistering public indictment of her former party chief Arvind Kejriwal as she announced her departure from the Aam Aadmi Party. Her allegations were pointed, personal, and unsparing.
“I have left the AAP and joined the BJP. Since 2006, I have been working with Arvind Kejriwal and supported him during every agitation. However, Arvind Kejriwal had me beaten up by a goon in my own house. I was threatened when I raised my voice against it, and he put immense pressure on me to withdraw the FIR I lodged regarding this incident. I was denied any opportunity by the party to speak in Parliament for two years; this is very shameful. Arvind Kejriwal is anti-women,” she said.
Maliwal did not stop at the personal. She levelled a series of broader political charges against the AAP leadership, particularly targeting its governance of Punjab. “Now, they have entered Punjab, and the state government is being remotely controlled, turning Punjab into their personal ATM. Sand mining and drug usage are at a peak in Punjab. FIRs are registered against all those leaders who raise their voices against them. Arvind Kejriwal is known for corruption and gundagardi,” she said.
On her reasons for joining the BJP, Maliwal was unequivocal: “I joined the BJP not under any compulsion, but because I believe in the leadership of PM Modi. I urge all those who want to do constructive politics to join the BJP.”
Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal: Two-Thirds of AAP’s Upper House Bloc Defects
Maliwal’s defection was part of a sweeping exodus. Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha — who had recently been stripped of his position as the party’s deputy leader in the Upper House — along with Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal also formally joined the BJP on Friday, formalising a split that had been building for weeks. Chadha addressed a press conference in the national capital to announce that two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha membership would be merging with the ruling party.
The trio joined the BJP in the presence of party national president Nitin Nabin at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, where they were formally welcomed into the fold. Also joining the party were MPs Harbhajan Singh, Vikram Sahney, and Rajinder Gupta — bringing the total number of defecting AAP parliamentarians to seven.
BJP Welcomes the Defectors — and Sets Its Sights on Viksit Bharat
The BJP’s response was warm and swift. Nabin took to X to extend his welcome, writing: “Welcomed Raghav Chadha Ji, Sandeep Pathak Ji, and Ashok Mittal Ji to the BJP family at the Party HQ today. Also, best wishes to Harbhajan Singh Ji, Swati Maliwal Ji, Vikram Sahney Ji, and Rajinder Gupta Ji to work under the dynamic leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji towards the goal of #ViksitBharat2047.”
Maliwal, in her remarks, also made a pointed reference to recent national security and legislative milestones under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “Be it during Operation Sindoor, when we killed enemies by entering their homes and ending Naxalism in the nation, or introducing the women’s reservation bill in Parliament, PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have taken historic decisions for the development of the nation,” she said.
AAP Reels as the Defections Trigger Furious Backlash
The departures drew furious reactions from AAP’s remaining leadership, even as the BJP moved to capitalise on the moment. For a party that has long positioned itself as an anti-establishment alternative to both the BJP and the Congress, losing two-thirds of its Rajya Sabha representation in a single day represents a wound that will be difficult to absorb — particularly as it continues to battle legal and political pressures on multiple fronts.
The defections raise immediate questions about AAP’s viability as a national force, the durability of its Punjab government, and the personal political future of Arvind Kejriwal himself — a man who, as recently as last year, was one of the most prominent opposition voices in Indian public life.
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