This AAP MP Hosted Arvind Kejriwal For A Year, Joined BJP Hours After Party Chief Moved Out

New Delhi: Days after being replaced by Raghav Chadha as Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha, Ashok Mittal, who quit the AAP on Friday, had earlier hosted Arvind Kejriwal and his family at his official residence on Ferozeshah Road in New Delhi, according to an NDTV report.

The former CM had moved into the bungalow in 2024 after stepping down as Delhi Chief Minister following his release on bail in the excise policy case. As a Rajya Sabha MP, Mittal had been allotted the residence.

On 24 April, Kejriwal moved out of Mittal’s residence and shifted to a Type VII government bungalow in Lodhi Estate, allotted to him by the Centre as the head of a national party. Within hours of the move, Mittal resigned from the AAP and joined the BJP, along with seven other Rajya Sabha MPs, as reported by ABP News.

Kejriwal's final attempt to prevent split

In a final attempt to prevent the split, Kejriwal reportedly reached out to the MPs, assuring them of future opportunities. He told them that if “you have any apprehension, you should resign from your posts and you will be given tickets again in the next term”, NDTV reported. He had also called them for a meeting on Friday evening. However, the meeting never took place, as the MPs announced their exit earlier that day.

Who are the seven MPs?

Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal, Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Vikram Sahney, and Rajinder Gupta.