Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal with BJP president Nitin Nabin and party leaders Anil Baluni (extreme left), Tarun Chugh and Arun Singh (extreme right) at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Friday. (PTI)
As BJP welcomed the seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs to its fold on Friday, political observers said it will strengthen the party when it comes to public perception and also enhance its negotiating leverage for a possible pre-poll alliance with the Akalis for the 2027 Punjab elections.
BJP president Nitin Nabin posted on X, “Welcomed Raghav Chadha Ji, Sandeep Pathak Ji, and Ashok Mittal Ji to the BJP family at the Party HQ today. Also, best wishes to Harbhajan Singh Ji, Swati Maliwal Ji, Vikram Sahney Ji, and Rajinder Gupta Ji to work under the dynamic leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji towards the goal of #ViksitBharat2047.”
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, a crucial link to the party’s organisation in the state, termed it “a historic day for Punjab”. “Once again, serious questions have been raised about Arvind Kejriwal’s politics of lies, fraud, deceit, and manipulation. People from within have come forward and exposed these false and deceptive practices. Those who once built the Aam Aadmi Party, who dreamed of and promised change, today feel cheated,” he added.
Former senior Congress leader Ashwani Kumar said while there was no immediate threat to the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab, the addition of seven more Rajya Sabha members from the state to the BJP’s kitty “is a significant morale booster for the BJP, which has succeeded in establishing its presence across the state in the last few years”.
“Raghav Chadha is likely to be presented by the BJP as its new leadership face to woo the urban electorate, with Ravneet Bittu as its face for the Sikh peasantry. The development has once again demonstrated BJP’s capacity for deft political moves and harnessing the factors of power to its advantage. The shifting of loyalties of Rajya Sabha members also shows that BJP is not a pariah party in the state,” Kumar added.
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