AAP Leader Blames Party's Leadership for Defection of Seven Rajya Sabha Members to BJP

The Aam Aadmi Party gave too much power to Raghav Chadha in Punjab and the leadership ‘ignored’ Sandeep Pathak for over a year, party chief spokesperson and Anandpur Sahib MP Malwinder Singh Kang told the Indian Express . As Chadha and Pathak, along with five other Rajya Sabha members defected to the BJP, Kang called for a “better coordination of the party leadership with MLAs, ministers, MPs”. Q: Why did seven AAP Rajya Sabha members defect to the BJP? Kang : First of all, when the party was giving Rajya Sabha tickets, it should have considered people from within the party — those who always stood firm irrespective of party’s electoral fortunes. The BJP uses every possible trick to break political parties, and they did the same here. They conducted ‘Operation Lotus’. Q: It is being said that 35 of your MLAs in Punjab are in touch with the BJP. Kang: We can only make assumptions. Given the BJP’s politics, they use every trick, every agency. Take West Bengal, Punjab, or any other state — we can’t rule it out. Our leadership needs to be more vigilant and must improve the coordination with the MLAs. Q: Punjab goes to polls early next year. Do you think this (the defection of Rajya Sabha members) will benefit the BJP and harm the AAP in the election year? Kang: It is in Punjab’s nature that people turn against those who do ‘dhoka’ (betrayal). All these tactics so far have had the same effect. But ultimately, we too need to undertake reforms in our organization in the coming times. We need better coordination with MLAs, ministers, MPs. We need to hold dialogue with them. Sandeep Pathak and I used to meet in the Parliament. He told me that no one even contacted him during last one year. He was one of those who might not have left had the party maintained dialogue with him. Q: But there was a time when Raghav Chadha had a lot of power in Punjab, and during the 2024 Parliament elections, Sandeep Pathak was handling the entire campaign. Do you think giving them so much power backfired? Kang: There’s no two opinion on this. We put Raghav Chadha on a pedestal. I feel the party made a mistake by giving him so much power. I saw him even interfering with the Chief Minister’s decisions on several occasions. He lacked political maturity and experience. We should have kept a check on Raghav Chadha. Q: You said, there’s a lack of coordination. Do you think this is the party’s problem or a structural problem with the administration and bureaucracy that elected members feel isolated ? Kang: I’m not talking from the administration’s point of view. I’m saying the internal culture of the organization needs to be improved further.