Baranagar: Reacting to Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and six other MPs quitting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), BJP President Nitin Nabin said on Saturday that the development reflects growing public trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking to IANS, Nabin said that internal dissatisfaction within AAP has been rising due to allegations of corruption linked to its leadership.
“When Arvind Kejriwal is being widely associated with corruption, it creates significant dissatisfaction within the AAP. As a result, some MPs have chosen to leave. This indicates that across the country, people’s trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi is increasing,” he added.
Echoing similar sentiments, Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar criticised the AAP, saying the party had deviated from its founding ideals.
“The Aam Aadmi Party was founded on promises of integrity and political reform. I was associated with its early days around 2009–2010. However, it has turned out to be the opposite. It is now competing with the Congress Party in corruption and positioning itself as a ‘B team’ of Congress,” he said.
Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Diya Kumari also commented on the development, saying that it reflects the current political climate in the country.
“The Opposition has little to say. The way several Rajya Sabha MPs from AAP have left and joined the BJP shows the changing political situation. Whether public representatives or ordinary citizens, everyone is watching these developments closely,” she said.
In a major political move on Friday, Chadha, one of the youngest parliamentarians, announced his resignation from the AAP along with six other party lawmakers.
Addressing a press conference alongside MP Sandeep Pathak, Chadha said that a two-thirds faction of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs has decided to merge with the BJP.
According to reports, those joining him include Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikram Sahni.
Chadha said that the group intends to formally merge with the BJP in the coming days by invoking provisions of the Constitution.
This move, backed by a two-thirds majority within the parliamentary party, may allow them to bypass the anti-defection law and avoid disqualification.
The development is being seen as a significant setback for AAP and its leadership.
It comes shortly after Chadha was reportedly removed from the post of Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha by AAP for not actively raising issues against the Union government.
(IANS)
