Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 25: Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia met party supremo Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi soon after returning from Gujarat, amid a major crisis triggered by the exit of several Rajya Sabha MPs.

According to party sources, Sisodia went directly from the airport to Kejriwal’s residence late at night, where the two leaders held a meeting for over 30 minutes to discuss the party’s future strategy and ways to handle the situation ahead of key assembly elections, particularly in Punjab.

The meeting comes after seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs — Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikram Sahni and Swati Maliwal — quit the party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

AAP has termed the development a “betrayal of Punjab” and accused the BJP of engineering the split using central agencies.

The party is now considering action against the defecting MPs under the anti-defection law. Sources said AAP’s chief whip in the Rajya Sabha, ND Gupta, may write to Rajya Sabha Chairperson CP Radhakrishnan seeking action against Chadha, Mittal and Pathak, who were publicly seen joining the BJP.

The remaining four MPs were not seen making their switch in public, and the party is assessing legal options in their cases.

The mass exit has reduced AAP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha from 10 to just three members, while boosting the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s numbers in the Upper House.

The timing is crucial as AAP is preparing for upcoming assembly elections in Punjab, Goa and Gujarat, aiming to expand its political footprint beyond Delhi.

Leaders such as Chadha and Pathak had played key roles in strengthening the party’s presence in Punjab, and their departure is expected to create a significant void.

The developments are likely to have a major impact on AAP’s expansion plans and could force the party to reassess its strategy in the coming months