New Delhi, April 25: In a seismic political development, Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha announced on Saturday, April 25 that he along with six other Members of Parliament have formally resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), declaring that the party had fallen into corrupt and compromised hands — leaving them disappointed, disenchanted, and disgusted. The mass exit, representing a two-thirds majority of AAP's Rajya Sabha strength, is widely seen as one of the most damaging internal collapses the party has faced since its founding.

The Seven MPs Who Walked Out

Chadha triggered the political earthquake on Friday, April 24, when he announced his resignation alongside Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikram Sahni — all sitting Rajya Sabha MPs from AAP. The group is set to formally merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the coming days, pending procedural formalities in the Upper House.

This bloc constitutes a constitutionally significant two-thirds faction of AAP's Rajya Sabha representation — the exact threshold required under the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution to execute a valid merger without inviting disqualification under anti-defection laws. Chadha explicitly referenced this legal provision, stating that elected representatives have the constitutional right to leave a party when they believe it has deviated from its founding principles.

Chadha's Explosive Accusations Against AAP Leadership

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Chadha delivered a scathing indictment of AAP's current direction. He said every true patriot who nurtured the Aam Aadmi Party with their blood and sweat has either already left or is in the process of leaving, because honest and hardworking members no longer see a future within the party.

Chadha directly rebutted claims from AAP leadership that the departing MPs were acting out of political fear. We did not leave the Aam Aadmi Party out of fear; we left because we felt disappointed, disenchanted, and disgusted, he stated emphatically. The choice of words — mirroring the language of a moral reckoning rather than a political calculation — is notable, given that many of these MPs were once among AAP's most prominent faces.

Notably, Swati Maliwal's inclusion in the group carries significant weight. Maliwal, a former Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson, had previously made headlines in 2024 when she alleged she was assaulted by Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar inside the Chief Minister's official residence — an incident that had already created a deep fault line between her and the AAP high command.

The Sheesh Mahal Controversy: The Breaking Point

Chadha identified the Sheesh Mahal controversy — referring to the lavish renovation of Arvind Kejriwal's official bungalow at 6 Flagstaff Road, Civil Lines, New Delhi — as a pivotal reason behind AAP's crushing defeat in the Delhi Assembly Elections of February 2025. He said if there was one single overriding reason for the defeat in the Delhi elections, it was precisely that Sheesh Mahal episode.

The BJP, seizing on the political moment, described Arvind Kejriwal as the Rahman Dakait of Delhi and released fresh images of what it termed Sheesh Mahal 2 — allegedly another luxury property associated with the former Chief Minister. Chadha echoed this concern, urging AAP's remaining workers to reflect on how they would defend these controversies before the public.

The irony is stark: AAP was founded in 2012 on the back of the India Against Corruption movement led by Anna Hazare, with Kejriwal positioning himself as the anti-corruption crusader who would cleanse Indian politics. The Sheesh Mahal episode — where public money was reportedly spent on luxury amenities at the CM's residence — became a symbol of the very excess the party once vowed to fight.

Political Fallout and What This Means for AAP

This mass resignation is not an isolated event but the culmination of a pattern of high-profile exits from AAP. Over the past several years, the party has lost numerous prominent leaders and state-level figures. The February 2025 Delhi election result — where AAP was reduced to a fraction of its earlier legislative strength — had already signaled a crisis of credibility.

The formal merger of these seven Rajya Sabha MPs into the BJP will significantly alter the arithmetic in the Upper House, strengthening the ruling party's numbers while further weakening AAP's already diminished parliamentary presence. For Kejriwal, who is currently out on bail in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case, this represents a compounding political crisis at a time when the party is struggling to rebuild its public image.

What Happens Next

The formal merger process requires the submission of a petition to the Rajya Sabha Chairman, after which the office will verify that the two-thirds threshold has been met. Once cleared, the group will be officially recognized as part of the BJP parliamentary party in the Upper House.

Political observers are watching closely to see whether any additional AAP legislators — in state assemblies like Punjab — follow suit in the coming weeks, which could further destabilize the party's only remaining government. As AAP faces its most existential crisis since formation, the coming weeks will determine whether Arvind Kejriwal can arrest the collapse — or whether the party that once promised to transform Indian politics becomes a cautionary tale about the very corruption it was built to fight.