Rohtak, April 25: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Anurag Dhanda on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of acting out of fear following AAP's rapid expansion in Gujarat, even as Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and six other AAP parliamentarians formally merged with the BJP. Dhanda made the remarks in Rohtak, asserting that the ruling party's actions — from alleged agency pressure to social media censorship — reflect desperation rather than political confidence.

AAP's Gujarat Surge Triggers BJP's 'Fear Tactics', Claims Dhanda

Speaking to news agency IANS, Anurag Dhanda said the BJP is rattled by AAP's accelerating footprint in Gujarat, a state the BJP has governed uninterrupted since 1995. "The BJP is afraid of the Aam Aadmi Party. The way AAP is rapidly progressing in Gujarat has unnerved them," he stated.

Dhanda alleged that the BJP has deployed investigative agencies, intimidation tactics, and coercion against AAP members to stall the party's growth. He framed these alleged actions as a systemic attempt to destabilize an opposition party gaining ground in BJP's most prized electoral territory.

This is not the first time AAP has raised such allegations. Arvind Kejriwal's arrest in the Delhi liquor policy case in March 2024 was similarly described by AAP as political persecution, a charge the BJP and central agencies have consistently denied.

Social Media Accounts Allegedly Blocked in Gujarat

Dhanda also alleged that AAP's digital presence in Gujarat has been actively suppressed, with Instagram and Facebook handles linked to the party reportedly blocked. "This is an attack on freedom of speech. They want to silence us, but no matter what they do, they cannot stop Arvind Kejriwal," he declared.

If verified, the blocking of social media accounts would represent a significant escalation in the political battle for Gujarat. AAP had made a notable debut in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections, winning 5 seats and securing a 12.9% vote share — a performance that alarmed the BJP establishment despite falling short of a breakthrough.

Dhanda invoked the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Bhagat Singh, drawing a parallel between AAP's current struggle and India's freedom movement, arguing that history honours those who resist rather than those who capitulate.

Sanjay Singh Seeks Termination of Defecting MPs' Membership

AAP leader Sanjay Singh has written to the Rajya Sabha Chairperson demanding the termination of membership of the seven MPs who have joined the BJP. Singh argued that the defecting members have forfeited their legal right to continue in the Upper House under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which governs anti-defection provisions.

The move is legally significant. Under the Tenth Schedule, a merger is valid only if two-thirds or more of a party's legislative group joins another party. AAP currently has 10 Rajya Sabha members, meaning at least 7 must merge for the constitutional provision to apply — which is precisely what Chadha and his colleagues claim to have done.

Legal experts note this is a grey area: whether a parliamentary group merger also triggers a formal party merger, or merely protects individual members from disqualification, remains subject to interpretation by the Rajya Sabha Chairman.

Raghav Chadha Formally Announces BJP Merger

On Friday, April 24, Raghav Chadha — the Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab — officially announced the merger at a press conference flanked by his colleagues. "We, the two-thirds members belonging to AAP in the Rajya Sabha, have decided to exercise provisions of the Constitution of India and merge ourselves with the BJP," he said.

The announcement came after months of reported friction between Chadha and the AAP central leadership. Chadha, once among AAP's most prominent faces and a close aide of Kejriwal, had been conspicuously absent from key party events in recent months, fuelling speculation about an impending split.

The defection is a significant blow to AAP's parliamentary presence. With seven of its ten Rajya Sabha members now aligned with the BJP, the party's ability to raise issues or block legislation in the Upper House is severely diminished.

Bigger Picture: What This Means for AAP and Indian Politics

The mass defection exposes a deepening crisis within AAP that goes beyond Gujarat. The party, which swept Delhi in 2020 with 62 of 70 seats, has faced a string of setbacks — including its 2025 Delhi Assembly defeat, leadership arrests, and now the haemorrhaging of its Rajya Sabha bloc.

Critics argue that AAP's narrative of victimhood — blaming the BJP for every internal fracture — risks losing credibility with voters who expect accountability from a party that built its identity on transparency and anti-corruption. The BJP, on the other hand, gains both parliamentary numbers and a powerful symbolic victory by absorbing AAP's own MPs.

With Gujarat local body elections and Bihar Assembly elections on the horizon, the political fallout from this defection will be closely watched. Whether AAP can sustain its grassroots momentum in Gujarat despite losing its parliamentary voice — and whether Sanjay Singh's disqualification petition gains traction — will shape the party's trajectory in the months ahead.