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Raghav Chadha, 6 MPs exit AAP, join BJP: Why AAP is calling it Operation Lotus? What does the term mean? News18 explains
BJP National President Nitin Nabin (right) meets Raghav Chadha at the party’s headquarters, in New Delhi, on Friday. (PTI)
As high-profile leader Raghav Chadha and six other Rajya Sabha MPs quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the AAP alleged ‘Operation Lotus’.
What is it? Has it happened in the past? News18 explains.
What Raghav Chadha said
Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak on Friday announced that they are joining the BJP along with five other MPs of the party. Addressing a press conference here, Chadha said that seven out of 10 Rajya Sabha MPs of AAP are set to merge with the BJP. “As per the Constitution, two-thirds of the total MPs of a party can merge with another party,” Chadha said. “We have submitted a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan in this regard today… submitting all the documents required, ” he told reporters.
Chadha said other AAP Rajya Sabha MPs who are joining the BJP are Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikram Sahni, Swati Maliwal and Ashok Mittal. Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, both AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, were present with Chadha at the press conference.
Today, exercising the provisions of the Constitution of India, more than two-thirds of the AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha have merged with the BJP.Seven MPs have signed the document, which was submitted to the Hon’ble Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
I, along with two other MPs,…
— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) April 24, 2026
What AAP said
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has officially accused the BJP of executing “Operation Lotus” in Punjab and Delhi. AAP MP Sanjay Singh has termed the move “petty politics” and a “conspiracy” to destabilise the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab. AAP alleged this is a targeted attempt to obstruct their governance work and weaken the party leadership. AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Friday slammed the party’s Rajya Sabha members’ defection as a work of the BJP under ‘Operation Lotus’, and said that the people of Punjab will not forgive the seven who quit. Addressing a press conference after the mass defection to the BJP, Singh accused the party of conspiring to obstruct the Bhagwant Mann government’s good work in Punjab.
What is Operation Lotus?
The term originated in 2008 and is derived from the Lotus, which is the official election symbol of the BJP. It typically involves getting opposition MLAs/MPs to resign or defect, thereby reducing the opposition’s strength and helping the BJP secure a majority without a direct electoral win.
A warm welcome to all the MPs who came to the Bharatiya Janata Party leaving their sinking ship. Due to AAP’s bad governance, corruption, apathy, where the people of Punjab have become disillusioned with this party, after the party abandoned the people’s interests within this party… — Sunil Jakhar (@sunilkjakhar) April 24, 2026
Has it happened in the past? What was the outcome?
Karnataka (2008): Coined during efforts to secure support for the B. S. Yediyurappa government.
Madhya Pradesh (2020): Used when 22 Congress MLAs resigned, leading to the collapse of the Kamal Nath government.
Maharashtra (2022): Cited during the political crisis that saw Eknath Shinde break away from the Shiv Sena to form a government with the BJP.
Recent Allegations
Aside from the current AAP crisis, the term was frequently used in March 2026:
Odisha (March 2026): Karnataka Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar claimed two people were arrested for trying to bribe Odisha Congress MLAs with ₹5 crore each ahead of Rajya Sabha polls.
Anti-Defection Law: Critics argue “Operation Lotus” is a way to bypass the provisions of the Anti-Defection Law by using mass resignations rather than simple floor-crossing.
KEY FAQs
What is ‘Operation Lotus’?
A term used by rivals to allege the BJP engineers defections to topple or weaken opposition governments.
Why does Aam Aadmi Party use it?
To claim its leaders are being targeted or pressured to switch sides.
With agency inputs
April 24, 2026, 6:40 PM IST
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