Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal & Sandeep Pathak quit AAP: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffered a major setback today. Three of the party's Rajya Sabha MPs—Raghav Chadha, Ashok Kumar Mittal, and Sandeep Pathak—are set to resign from the AAP and join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Who are the two leaders joining the BJP along with Raghav Chadha?
The three leaders announced their decision during a joint press conference. Speaking to the media, Raghav Chadha stated that since the AAP holds a two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha, its members—citing constitutional provisions—have decided to merge themselves with the BJP. Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal were also present on the dais alongside him.
This move is being viewed as a significant political blow to Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP leadership, as these three leaders were considered prominent faces of the party and had been representing the AAP in the Rajya Sabha since 2022.
Sandeep Pathak's Journey:
According to reports, Sandeep Pathak was born into a farming family in Bataha village, located in the Mungeli district of Chhattisgarh. He completed his early schooling—up to the sixth grade—in his own village. For further studies, he moved to Bilaspur, where he continued his education while staying at his aunt's home. Subsequently, he completed his Master's degree within Chhattisgarh itself.
Following this, his journey led him to some of the country's premier research institutions. He was associated with both academic studies and research at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad and the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune. It was from here that avenues for opportunities abroad opened up for him.
Sandeep Pathak earned his PhD degree from the University of Cambridge, specializing in high-temperature superconducting materials. Subsequently, he also conducted post-doctoral research at institutions such as the University of Oxford and MIT.
