Manish Sisodia Meets Arvind Kejriwal; AAP To Approach Rajya Sabha Chairman Against Defectors
· Free Press Journal
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has begun internal deliberations to chalk out its next course of action after a major split in its Rajya Sabha ranks. Late on Friday night, senior leader Manish Sisodia met party convenor Arvind Kejriwal at his residence in Delhi, hours after returning from Gujarat.
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Late-Night Strategy Talks In Delhi
Sisodia had been in Rajkot campaigning for municipal elections when the political crisis escalated. According to a report published in ANI, Sisodia went directly from the airport to Kejriwal’s residence, where the two leaders held a closed-door meeting for over 30 minutes.
The discussion reportedly focused on assessing the fallout of the Rajya Sabha split and framing a strategy to counter its political impact.
AAP Moves Against Rebel MPs
The crisis follows a dramatic announcement by Raghav Chadha that he, along with six other AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, had informed the Chairman of their decision to leave the party.
In response, AAP is preparing to escalate the matter formally. Party sources said chief whip ND Gupta will write to Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan, seeking action under the anti-defection law.
The complaint is likely to specifically target Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, and Ashok Kumar Mittal, who were allegedly seen publicly aligning with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Disqualification Demand Gains Momentum
Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh has also announced plans to write to the Chairman, demanding disqualification of the rebel MPs under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which governs defection-related cases.
Party insiders indicated that while all seven MPs are believed to have shifted allegiance, only three have visibly joined the BJP in public so far, forming the basis of the immediate complaint.
'Will Seek Disqualification Of Raghav Chadha, Others': Sanjay Singh To Approach Rajya Sabha Chairman, Calls It DefectionRift Was Brewing Within Party
The split comes after weeks of internal tensions within AAP. The situation escalated after Chadha was removed as the party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, which led to public criticism and allegations of him being “soft” on the BJP.
Notably, several prominent figures including Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, and Swati Maliwal are among those to have aligned with the BJP.
Political Battle Shifts To Upper House
As AAP scrambles to contain the damage, the focus now shifts to the Rajya Sabha, where the party is attempting to challenge the defections legally while simultaneously recalibrating its political strategy.