He hosted Kejriwal over a year, then defected: Ashok Mittal's break with AAP

Ashok Mittal, a Rajya Sabha member who hosted Arvind Kejriwal at his Delhi residence for over a year, quit the Aam Aadmi Party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday.

Mittal, founder of Lovely Professional University, had offered his official bungalow at 5 Ferozeshah Road to Kejriwal after the former Delhi chief minister stepped down in September 2024 following his release on bail in the excise policy case.

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Kejriwal, who had earlier stayed at 6 Flag Staff Road as chief minister, moved into Mittal’s residence and remained there for a little over a year.

On April 24, Kejriwal vacated the bungalow and shifted to a Type-VII government residence in Lodhi Estate allotted to him by the Centre as the head of a national party.

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Hours later, Mittal resigned from the AAP and joined the BJP.

Mittal was among a group of leaders who left the party. Raghav Chadha, Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikram Sahney also quit the AAP and joined the BJP.

On April 2, Kejriwal removed Chadha as the party's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha and appointed Mittal in his place.

Under anti-defection provisions, a Rajya Sabha member can avoid disqualification only if at least two-thirds of a party's legislators agree to a merger with another party.

Maliwal's exit came months after her relationship with the party deteriorated following her allegation in May 2024 that Kejriwal’s aide, Bibhav Kumar, had assaulted her at the chief minister’s residence.

Kejriwal had reportedly asked party MPs to resign if they were dissatisfied, saying, "If you have any apprehension, you should resign from your posts, and you will be given tickets again in the next term."

He had also called a meeting of MPs at his residence on Friday evening to discuss the situation, but the meeting did not take place as the leaders announced their departure earlier.

Mittal, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab in 2022, had recently been appointed the party’s deputy leader in the Upper House, replacing Chadha.

The developments mark a significant moment for the AAP leadership as multiple senior figures exit the party ahead of the next electoral cycle.