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    EYE ON INDIA                                                              MAY 08, 2026     |  The Indian Eye                    8

                                                      AAP DEFECTIONS

              Massive Shock to

                Kejriwal & Party

              The defection of seven Rajya Sabha MPs has triggered a debate on whether it marks a struc-

               tural weakening of the Aam Aadmi Party and a broader fragmentation of India’s opposition.

            OUR BUREAU
            New Delhi
                  he defection of seven Rajya
                  Sabha MPs from the Aam
            TAadmi Party to the Bharatiya
            Janata Party has set off one of the
            most consequential political churns
            in recent years, raising two inter-
            linked questions: does this mark the
            beginning of the end for AAP as a na-
            tional challenger, and does it signal a
            deeper weakening of India’s already
            fragmented opposition?
                The numbers alone are stark.
            With the exit of leaders including
            Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak,
            Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh,
            Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh
            Sahney and Swati Maliwal, the
            AAP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha
            has collapsed from a significant bloc
            to just three members. Simultane-
            ously, the BJP’s tally has risen to 113
            in the Upper House, consolidating    Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal meet BJP National President Nitin Nabin at the party headquarters,
            its legislative advantage.                                              in New Delhi on Friday (ANI Photo)
                This is not merely a numerical
            shift—it is a structural rupture. The
            defection crossed the critical two-  tive to traditional politics. Its rapid   and Kashmir, to underline its contin-  Such statements strike at the
            thirds threshold required under the   rise—forming  government  in  Delhi   ued relevance.            heart of AAP’s founding narrative as
            Tenth Schedule of the Constitution   thrice and expanding into Punjab—  Yet, the current crisis exposes   a party of clean governance and par-
            for a “merger,” allowing the MPs to   was often cited as evidence of a shift-  vulnerabilities that go beyond elec-  ticipatory politics. If the perception
            avoid  disqualification.  Critics  argue   ing political landscape.  toral performance. The departure of   of centralized control or ideological
            that the precision of this number in-  AAP leader Atishi pushed back   senior leaders from the parliamenta-  drift gains traction, it could weaken
            dicates a calculated political move   strongly against narratives of decline.   ry wing suggests internal fractures—  the party’s ability to retain talent and
            designed to stay within legal bound-  “BJP wrote an obituary for the AAP   whether ideological, organizational   expand nationally.
            aries while delivering maximum im-  15  times  in  the  last  15  years,”  she   or leadership-driven. Chadha him-  The BJP, for its part, has framed
            pact.                             said, arguing that the party remains   self claimed that “every honest, hard-  the defections as a natural political
                For AAP, the loss is both symbol-  “the country’s fastest-growing party.”   working person feels that there is no   realignment rather than a result of
            ic and strategic. Since its emergence   She pointed to electoral successes in   longer room” within the party, alleg-  coercion. Union Minister Kiren Ri-
            under Arvind Kejriwal, the party po-  Punjab, as well as representation in   ing that it has “deviated from its core   jiju dismissed allegations of pressure,
            sitioned itself as a disruptive alterna-  states like Gujarat, Goa and Jammu   principles.”                  Continued on next page... >>

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