Arvind Kejriwal (file photo)

New Delhi: After learning that his party’s MPs in the Rajya Sabha might end up breaking away and joining the BJP, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal made a last-ditch effort to manage the situation by reaching out to most of them, but it proved too late.People familiar with the development said Sandeep Pathak’s joining the breakaway group was the biggest surprise as Kejriwal saw him as a loyalist who would not change sides.Meanwhile, AAP MP Sanjay Singh on Sunday said he has submitted a petition to Rajya Sabha Speaker CP Radhakrishnan seeking disqualification of the seven AAP MPs who merged with the BJP. He said the party would also take legal action if necessary and claimed the move was a violation of the anti-defection law.Singh said several Supreme Court judgments, including those in Uttarakhand and Arunachal, have made it clear how such defection can lead to disqualification.Meanwhile, sources said events leading up to the defection show that Kejriwal had started reaching out to AAP MPs from April 22 onwards, holding meetings with at least Vikramjit Singh Sawhney, Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak. Harbhajan Singh was in Mumbai, but it is understood that Kejriwal has spoken to him.When Sahni met Kejriwal on April 22, Kejriwal asked him if there was any pressure on him and whether he had received any call to join the BJP. Sources said that it has been learned that Kejriwal also met Sandeep Pathak for one and a half hour and after the meeting he was assured that Pathak will not cross the border.Kejriwal spoke to Sahni again on Friday and asked the MP to meet him in the evening. However, Raghav Chadha held a press conference in the afternoon, where it was announced that the MPs would join BJP. The fact that Kejriwal’s efforts did not succeed shows that the problem had been brewing for a long time.Not only Chadha, readers were also dissatisfied for a long time. Both of them played an important role in the party’s victory in Punjab. However, sources said Pathak was gradually marginalized after the party lost the Delhi elections. Sahni told TOI that growing disillusionment with the functioning of the state government and the crisis Punjab was facing was one of the reasons for his decision.