AAP workers storm RS member’s village after recent BJP switch

Raipur: The defection of senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sandeep Pathak to the BJP has triggered a sharp backlash in Chhattisgarh, with party workers staging protests and branding the move a "betrayal" of the organisation he once helped build. In a symbolic act of anger, AAP workers gathered in front of Pathak's residence in Battha village in Lormi area in Mungeli district and wrote "gaddar" (traitor) on the walls of his house. The party also amplified the protest by posting images and taking a swipe at the former strategist with indecent comments. Party insiders say his exit could dent AAP's organisational momentum in the state, especially at a time when it is trying to establish itself as a credible third force.The jibe, posted by AAP's Chhattisgarh unit, summed up the mood on the ground as party workers poured onto the streets in Mungeli, venting anger over senior leader Sandeep Pathak switching sides.Pathak, who served as the party's national organisational general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP, was widely seen as the architect behind AAP's election machinery. From candidate selection to booth-level structuring, his role in scripting the party's landslide victory in Punjab in 2022 earned him the tag of the party's "brain".Pathak also has deep roots in Chhattisgarh. Hailing from Mungeli district, he rose from a farmer's family to academia before becoming a close aide of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and a member of the party's political affairs committee. As state in-charge, he focused on expanding the cadre base and strengthening booth-level networks.While his entry is seen as a strategic gain for the BJP, for AAP it marks the loss of a key planner. On the ground in Mungeli, however, the response has been more emotional than political, marked by slogans, graffiti and visible anger among party workers, with one protester saying it felt like he had "quit on us."