Two FIRs against Sandeep Pathak have intensified the political clash in Punjab, with BJP alleging vendetta and AAP denying charges amid recent high-profile defections.
Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak speaks during a press interaction. (ANI Video grab)
The Punjab Police have initiated proceedings to arrest Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Sandeep Pathak following the registration of two separate First Information Reports (FIRs) against him. Pathak, who recently defected from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is facing serious allegations involving corruption and the exploitation of a woman.
Sources indicate that the cases include non-bailable sections, and a police team from Punjab has already reached the national capital to take him into custody.
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The development follows a significant political shift on April 25, 2026, when Pathak joined the BJP alongside Raghav Chadha and five other AAP Rajya Sabha MPs. Before the news of the FIRs became public, Pathak was seen leaving his Delhi residence without offering any immediate comment on the legal action.
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The crackdown is not limited to Pathak; Rajinder Gupta, another leader who moved to the BJP, recently faced raids by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) at his industrial units, though the Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed further action in that matter until May 4.
Sandeep Pathak was long regarded as the primary architect of AAP’s organisational strength and electoral success. Joining the party in 2016, he rose to prominence for his data-driven approach to candidate selection and booth-level management.
He was widely credited as the “election machine” behind AAP’s landslide victory in the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, which subsequently led to his unopposed election to the Rajya Sabha in April 2022 and his appointment as the National General Secretary (Organisation).
The sudden legal offensive against a former top strategist has sparked intense political debate in the region. Pathak had played a central role in AAP’s expansion efforts in states like Gujarat and Goa, serving on the party’s powerful Political Affairs Committee before his exit. His departure, along with other high-profile MPs such as Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal, marked a major blow to the AAP leadership, and the current police action in Delhi signals a deepening confrontation between the ruling party in Punjab and its former members.
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