# Ex-AAP strategist Sandeep Pathak named BJP national secretary 2026-08-17T13:11:51+00:00 | Politics | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday appointed Sandeep Pathak, a former backroom strategist for Arvind Kejriwal, as one of its 16 national secretaries in a team announced by party president Nitin Nabin. Pathak, a Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in April 2026 along with six other MPs and joined the BJP. Livemint reports that Pathak was sidelined in AAP after the party's defeat in the Delhi assembly elections in February 2025, leading to his departure. He had earlier been AAP's national general secretary (organisation) and a key figure in the party's Punjab election sweep in 2022. Hindustan Times notes that Pathak's elevation is significant ahead of the Punjab assembly elections next year, as he previously built AAP's organisation in the state. The BJP has also elevated former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal as national vice-president and retained Tarun Chugh as in-charge of the party's central office. These moves are part of the BJP's strategy to expand its independent base in Punjab, especially among Jat Sikh voters. Pathak, an IIT Delhi alumnus with a PhD from Cambridge, had joined AAP in 2017 and rose to become one of Kejriwal's closest aides. ## Coverage - livemint.com - hindustantimes.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-18T01:51:19+00:00. Tags: AAP, Arvind Kejriwal, BJP, Sandeep Pathak Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sandeep-pathak-ex-kejriwal-strategist-named-bjp-national-secretary/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sandeep-pathak-ex-kejriwal-strategist-named-bjp-national-secretary/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/