2 min readNew DelhiApr 24, 2026 05:56 PM IST First published on: Apr 24, 2026 at 05:56 PM ISTMockingly called the Aam Aadmi Party’s “super strategist” because of its successive electoral defeats since he was appointed as the party’s first national general secretary (organisation), Sandeep Pathak’s name in the list of seven Rajya Sabha MPs who joined the BJP on Friday was perhaps the most surprising, AAP leaders say.The 47-year-old former IIT Delhi professor had been elected to the Upper House in April 2022, just months before he was chosen for the organisational post, underlining his closeness to then-Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.AdvertisementA “numbers guy” whose penchant for statistics is said to have captured Kejriwal’s fancy, Pathak has roots in Chhattisgarh, which he initially oversaw for the AAP till his elevation up the party’s organisational ranks. He was an associate professor at IIT Delhi, researching photovoltaic cells, until officially joining the AAP on the heels of the 2020 Delhi and 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.He holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, which he received in 2011 and was feted for having played “a significant role” in the party’s sweep in both Delhi and Punjab. He was especially said to have played “a unifying role” in Punjab as the party headed to the polls as an expression of its national expansion plans.Also Read | ‘Punjab will not forget these 7 traitors’: AAP after Raghav Chadha, 6 others quit partyIn addition to identifying individuals for key organisational roles, Pathak was credited with conducting precise data analyses on candidates and key poll issues.AdvertisementHowever, insiders claim Pathak had “lost relevance” over the last four years. They said he was sidelined, given his loosening hold on the party’s organisation, due to one electoral setback after another, especially its losses in the 2024 Lok Sabha and the 2025 Delhi Assembly polls.