- Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal quit AAP, joined BJP.
- Mittal hosted Kejriwal’s family for over a year.
- Two-thirds of AAP Rajya Sabha MPs exit party.
- Exiting MPs cite AAP’s drift from core values.
In a dramatic turn of events for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal resigned from the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) just hours after Arvind Kejriwal vacated his residence.
Mittal had hosted Kejriwal and his family at his official bungalow, 5 Ferozeshah Road near Mandi House, for over a year. The arrangement began in 2024 after Kejriwal stepped down as Delhi Chief Minister following his release on bail in the excise policy case. The residence had been allotted to Mittal in his capacity as a Rajya Sabha MP.
Kejriwal Shifts, Political Fallout Follows
On April 24, Kejriwal moved out of Mittal’s residence and shifted to a Type-VII government bungalow in Lodhi Estate, allotted to him by the Centre as the head of a national party. Within hours of the move, Mittal resigned from AAP and joined the BJP, a development that could be seen as a significant setback for the party leadership.
The political tremor did not stop there. Alongside Mittal, several other prominent AAP leaders, Raghav Chadha, Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikram Sahney, also quit the party and joined the BJP.
Two-Thirds of AAP’s RS MPs Exit, Cite ‘Drift from Core Values’
The resignations mark a major crisis within AAP, with reports of growing internal dissent surfacing in recent weeks. Addressing a press conference, Raghav Chadha, flanked by Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, said that two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs have now exited the party and will join the BJP as a group.
Chadha also confirmed that Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal are among those leaving. “AAP, which I nurtured with my blood and sweat and to which I gave 15 years of my youth, has completely strayed from its principles, values and core morals,” he said.
Notably, Chadha was recently removed as AAP’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha and replaced by Mittal, adding another layer to the unfolding political shift.
