In a significant political development, the Rajya Sabha Chairman has approved the merger of seven AAP MPs with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Rajya Sabha Secretariat has also issued an official notice confirming the move.

In the official Rajya Sabha records, all seven MPs are now listed as part of the BJP.

With this, the BJP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha has now risen to 113. 

Seven Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MPs — Raghav Chadha, Ashok Kumar Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Swati Maliwal, and Rajinder Gupta — resigned from the party on April 24 and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at its Delhi headquarters. The induction took place in the presence of BJP chief Nitin Nabin and senior leader Tarun Chugh.

Addressing a press conference before the meeting, Chadha, accompanied by Pathak and Mittal, stated that two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs had broken away from the party and were joining the BJP as a separate faction.

"I am telling you the real reason as to why I distanced myself from party activities. I did not want to be a part of their crimes. I was not eligible for their friendship because I was not a part of their crime. We had just two options - either quit politics and give up our public work in the last 15-16 years or we do positive politics with our energy and experience. So, we have decided that we, the 2/3rd members belonging to the AAP in Rajya Sabha, exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge ourselves with the BJP," he said. 

The anti-defection law, included in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, aims to stop elected MPs from changing political parties after winning elections. Its purpose is to ensure stability in Parliament, including the Rajya Sabha. Under this law, a member can lose their seat if they leave their party on their own or go against the party’s instructions (whip) while voting. However, if at least two-thirds of a party’s members in the House decide to join another party, it is considered a valid merger rather than defection. In such situations, these members are not disqualified under the anti-defection law.