New Delhi: After two-thirds of its Rajya Sabha MPs left the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, the party has begun working on a new strategy, with deliberations underway among its leaders.
Late last night, after returning from Gujarat, senior leader Manish Sisodia met Kejriwal at his residence. Sisodia had been in Rajkot campaigning for municipal elections.
Party sources said Sisodia went directly from the airport to Kejriwal’s residence, where the two leaders held a meeting for over half an hour. They discussed the possible impact of the split and the party’s future course of action.
The development comes after Raghav Chadha, along with six AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, informed the Chairman of the House about their decision to leave the party, in accordance with parliamentary rules. AAP is also set to send a formal letter to the Rajya Sabha Chairman on the matter.
According to party sources, chief whip N. D. Gupta will submit a complaint against Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Kumar Mittal, seeking action under the anti-defection law.
Sources added that the complaint targets the three MPs who were publicly seen joining the BJP, while the remaining four were not seen making such a move in public.
Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh has also said he will write to the Rajya Sabha Chairman seeking disqualification of the three MPs under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
The split had been brewing for weeks, with tensions escalating after Chadha was removed as deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha. Several party leaders criticised him, accusing him of being soft towards the BJP.
Mittal, who replaced Chadha, later joined the BJP along with Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Swati Maliwal.