NEW DELHI: In a major setback to the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday, its prominent Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha led a wave of exodus from the Arvind Kejriwal-led party, joining the Bharatiya Janata Party along with two party colleagues and fellow MPs, including Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal.Notably, weeks earlier, the AAP had appointed Ashok Mittal as the new deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, replacing Raghav Chadha, who was removed from the key post.However, a total of seven MPs from the Aam Aadmi Party are to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, as Chadha announced.Raghav Chadha is set to take away nearly two-thirds of the Aam Aadmi Party’s strength in the Rajya Sabha as he joins the Bharatiya Janata Party.Apart from Arvind Kejriwal’s once trusted lieutenant in Punjab workings — Raghav Chadha, the list of MPs to switch sides includes former close aide Swati Maliwal, who had appeared distanced from the party.Others named in the exodus include cricketer-turned-politician Harbhajan Singh, along with Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikram Sahni.Damaging Kejriwal’s camp severely, Chadha lashed out at the party leadership, saying, “I am telling you the real reason why I distanced myself from party activities. I did not want to be a part of their crimes. I was not eligible for their friendship because I was not a part of their crime.”
