CHANDIGARH: The departure of seven Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha members has dealt the party a symbolic blow in Punjab, with two of its key backroom strategists—Sandeep Pathak and Raghav Chadha—quitting the party ahead of the 2027 assembly elections, now barely ten months away.
Key Strategists Exit
Pathak and Chadha were central to AAP's sweeping victory in the 2022 Punjab state elections. Pathak, described within the party as the "silent mastermind," was in charge of Punjab and built a data-driven grassroots network that powered the campaign. Chadha, then Punjab co-in-charge alongside Jarnail Singh, played the role of the high-profile interface between the Delhi leadership and the state unit.
Diminished Influence
However, their operational influence in Punjab had already waned. After AAP's defeat in the 2025 Delhi assembly elections, senior Delhi leaders—including Manish Sisodia—shifted focus to Punjab. Sisodia formally took over as the party's Punjab in-charge in March 2025, effectively assuming the strategist's role.
"Chadha's exit is more of a symbolic and psychological setback than a functional one," said an AAP leader. "Since Sisodia took charge, the leadership and campaign planning have been centrally driven from Punjab."
Limited Operational Impact
A former party leader echoed the view, stating that the two leaders had helped AAP "crack the Punjab code" in 2022 without contesting elections themselves, but their departure is unlikely to cause an immediate operational vacuum. "The next campaign will be centred on governance rather than the 'Badlav' narrative of 2022," the leader said, adding that the BJP was likely to use their exit to project AAP as a "sinking ship."
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has dismissed the defectors as "non-mass leaders" who were only political appointees. Nevertheless, political observers believe the BJP will seek to extract maximum mileage from the optics of senior AAP MPs defecting en masse.
Political Implications
By moving together, the MPs have invoked the two-thirds merger provision of the Tenth Schedule, enabling them to retain their Rajya Sabha seats—a factor that strengthens the BJP's psychological advantage ahead of the Punjab polls.
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About the Author: Vibhor Mohan, with over 25 years of experience and a doctorate in new media, is a senior assistant editor with The Times of India’s Punjab bureau in Chandigarh, reporting on the Punjab government, Aam Aadmi Party, and agriculture.
