Kejriwal tried to stop defections, but it was a case of too little, too late

NEW DELHI: Getting to cognize that his party's MPs successful Rajya Sabha could interruption distant to articulation BJP lone towards the end, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal made last-ditch efforts to salvage the concern by reaching retired to astir of them, but it proved a lawsuit of excessively small excessively late.That Sandeep Pathak excessively joined the breakaway radical was the biggest astonishment arsenic Kejriwal saw him arsenic a loyalist who wouldn't power sides, radical alert of the developments said.Meanwhile, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said connected Sunday helium has submitted a petition to RS president C P Radhakrishnan seeking disqualification of the 7 AAP MPs who person merged with BJP. He said the enactment would besides prosecute ineligible enactment if needed, claiming that the determination violated the anti-defection law.Singh said galore SC rulings, including those related to Uttarakhand and Arunachal, had clarified however specified defections could pb to disqualification.Meanwhile, the trajectory of events earlier the defections shows that Kejriwal started reaching retired to AAP MPs from April 22, with calls being made and meetings held with astatine slightest Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak, sources said. Harbhajan Singh was successful Mumbai, but Kejriwal is learnt to person spoken to him.

When Sahney met Kejriwal connected April 22, the second asked him if helium was nether immoderate unit and had received immoderate calls to articulation BJP. It is learnt that Kejriwal besides met Sandeep Pathak for 1 and a fractional hours and emerged assured from the gathering that Pathak would not transverse over, sources said.Kejriwal spoke to Sahney again connected Friday and asked the MP to conscionable him successful the evening. However, Raghav Chadha held a property league successful the day wherever the announcement of the MPs crossing implicit to BJP was made.

The information that Kejriwal's efforts failed to carnivore effect indicates that the occupation had been brewing for long.Not conscionable Chadha, Pathak had besides been disgruntled for rather immoderate time. Both had played important roles successful the party's triumph successful Punjab. Pathak, however, faced gradual marginalisation aft the enactment mislaid Delhi polls, sources said. Sahney told TOI that increasing disenchantment with the functioning of authorities govt and the situation being faced by Punjab was 1 of the reasons for his decision.