Will Raghav Chadha & 6 AAP MPs Face Disqualification After Joining BJP? What Constitution Says On Merger – 2/3rd Majority, 10th Schedule Explained

Raghav Chadha, on Friday along with six other Rajya Sabha Members of Parliament from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), announced their decision to quit the party and merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP. A few days ago, Chadha was removed as AAP’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, with the party alleging that he had failed to raise key issues against the government. Addressing a press conference, Chadha stated that the decision was taken collectively by more than two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs, invoking constitutional provisions that permit such a merger. Apart from Chadha, the MPs leaving AAP for BJP include Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney, and Swati Maliwal.

“They have signed and this morning we submitted the signed letter and documents to the Rajya Sabha chairman,” Chadha said, adding that Mittal and Pathak were present alongside him during the announcement.

AAP Moves to Seek Disqualification of MPs: What the Law Says on Defection and Merger

Reacting to the development, AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said he would seek the disqualification of Chadha, Mittal and Pathak from the Upper House for joining the BJP.

Under Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India, voluntarily giving up membership of a political party constitutes grounds for disqualification of a legislator. An MP elected on one party’s ticket is generally barred from joining another party, as it would amount to defection, described by the Supreme Court as a “constitutional sin” in the Harish Chandra Rawat case.

However, Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule provides an exception in cases of merger. A legislator will not face disqualification if their “original political party” merges with another party and they act in accordance with that merger. Even those who dissent from such a merger are protected and may function as a separate group.

For a merger to be considered valid, at least two-thirds of the members of a legislature party must agree to it. Importantly, the merger must originate from the “original political party” itself, not merely from its legislative wing. The acceptance of two-thirds of legislators is a condition that validates a merger initiated at the party level.

In effect, for a merger between AAP and BJP to hold constitutional validity, the AAP’s central leadership must formally announce it, followed by acceptance from at least two-thirds of its legislators across legislative bodies. Without this, a group of MPs unilaterally declaring a merger could raise legal questions.

AAP currently has 10 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. With seven MPs backing the move, the group claims to have crossed the two-thirds threshold required to avoid disqualification.

“As per the Constitution, two-thirds of the total MPs of a party can merge with another party,” Chadha said.

Why Raghav Chadha Left AAP And Joined BJP

Explaining his decision, Chadha said he had long felt out of place within the party.

“…For the past few years, I could feel that I am the right man in the wrong party,” he said.

He added that despite nurturing AAP “with my blood and sweat,” the party had “deviated from its principles, values and core morals.”

Chadha further alleged that he was not “eligible” for the AAP leadership’s friendship “because I was not 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,” he said.

Also Read: Political Storm Unveiled By  ‘Silenced’ Raghav Chaddha Hits AAP Big, 2/3rd MPs Join BJP. What Happens To Arvind Kejriwal’s Party Now?