AAP Strength Drops Sharply; BJP Nears Majority in Upper House

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, suffered a major political setback after Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan officially recognised the merger of seven of its members with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The development has significantly altered the political balance in the Upper House. Following this decision, AAP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha has dropped from 10 to just 3 members. In contrast, the BJP’s tally has increased from 106 to 113. According to the Rajya Sabha website, the total strength of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has risen from 141 to 148, bringing the BJP closer to the majority mark of 123 seats in the Upper House. Sources indicated that the Chairman’s decision was taken under the provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, commonly known as the anti-defection law, which permits a merger if at least two-thirds of a party’s members agree to it. The seven MPs who joined the BJP include Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Ashok Mittal, and Rajinder Gupta. These members collectively represent two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha unit, allowing them to retain their membership under the anti-defection provisions. Meanwhile, AAP has strongly opposed the move and is preparing for a legal challenge. The party had earlier written to the Chairman seeking the disqualification of the MPs. Citing legal experts, including Kapil Sibal, AAP argued that a merger of the legislative or parliamentary party should be preceded by a merger of the parent political parties. However, experts have pointed to precedents in Maharashtra involving factions of the Shiv Sena (Shinde group) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar group), where breakaway factions with two-thirds support were recognised as the legitimate party units. The development has sparked fresh political debate in Punjab and Delhi, with potential implications for the broader political landscape in the coming days.