CP Radhakrishnan clears BJP merger of Raghav Chadha and other AAP rebels; Kiren Rijiju says ‘Welcome to nation-building NDA’

CP Radhakrishnan, Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, has approved the merger of seven MPs led by Raghav Chadha into the Bharatiya Janata Party, following their exit from the Aam Aadmi Party last week. With this move, the BJP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha has risen to 113.

The leaders joining the party include Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal and Rajinder Gupta.

Union minister Kiren Rijiju confirmed the development on X, welcoming the MPs into the NDA fold under the leadership of Narendra Modi, while taking a swipe at the opposition alliance.

BJP welcomes new entrants

Rijiju praised the seven MPs, noting that they had maintained parliamentary decorum and refrained from disruptive conduct in the House.

The departure marks a major setback for the AAP, which has seen its Rajya Sabha numbers shrink to just three members. Of the seven who quit, six belonged to Punjab, leaving Balbir Singh Seechewal as the party’s lone representative from the state in the Upper House.

Chadha cites ‘toxic’ environment

In a video statement, Raghav Chadha explained his decision to leave the party he co-founded, alleging that its internal functioning had deteriorated.

“I gave this party 15 years of my prime youth… but it is no longer the same. You are stopped from doing your work and even from speaking in Parliament. The party is now controlled by a corrupt few working for personal gain,” he said.

Chadha added that he had weighed other options, including quitting politics or staying back to reform the party, before ultimately deciding to join the BJP. Questioning criticism of the move, he remarked, “One or two people can be wrong, but can seven people be wrong?”