The turmoil in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which led to the defection of seven Rajya Sabha (RS) MPs has taken a constitutional turn, with AAP MP in the Rajya Sabha, Sanjay Singh on Sunday officially petitioning the RS Chairman CP Radhakrishnan to disqualify the seven MPs, who recently announced a merger with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It is not the first time such defection have taken place and was once quite prevalent and a defector known as ‘Aya Ram-Gaya Ram.’
The issue before the RS Chairman has many repercussions and will have intricate political fallout. Though one view being that the ruling BJP wants a 2/3rd strength in the RS, which it does not have. A 2/3rd majority in both houses of Parliament is essential for any constitutional amendment. In lighter language the defection is being described as – AAP defector MPs going into the ‘BJP washing machine’.
The issue whether this defection or merger is constitutional or not, can be a headache for the AAP, as the RS Chairman can take time to decide on it. As in earlier cases the issue can go to the courts leading to years of litigation making it infructuous. Prominent RS MP and legal icon, Kapil Sibal has spoken on the subject. (See ANI media conference report in Part-1 & Part-2)
Obviously, at present it is another setback for the AAP after the defeat in Delhi Assembly elections, though AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal is busy campaigning for the second phase of the West Bengal State elections.
ANI adds:
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh on Sunday (26 April, 2026) officially petitioned RS Chairman CP Radhakrishnan to disqualify seven MPs, who recently announced a merger with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The petition challenged the “purported merger” under paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and sought the disqualification of the MPs under its paragraph 2(1)(a).
Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule deals with disqualification on the ground of defection. Sub-paragraph (1) provides that, subject to the provisions of paragraphs 4 and 5, a member of a House belonging to any political party shall be disqualified from being a member of the House. Clause (a) of this sub-paragraph further specifies that such disqualification occurs if the member has voluntarily given up membership of that political party.
Singh challenged the validity of the merger, citing the requirements in the Constitution.
“The Petitioner submits that a careful reading of Paragraph 4(1) and Paragraph 4(2) together reveals two conditions needs to be satisfied: first, there must be a merger of the original political party with another political party. Second, not less than two-thirds of the members of the legislature party must have agreed to such a merger,” the petition said.
“Both conditions are cumulative and must coexist, i.e. a merger between parties is an independent condition and can only be attained by the decision of the entire political party in terms of the procedure. Members of the legislature group alone cannot decide or claim a merger,” it added.
The seven MPs named in the petition consist of Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Rajinder Gupta, and Swati Maliwal.
While addressing a presser in the national capital on Friday, Chadha formalised a split that had been building for weeks, announcing that two-thirds of the party’s Upper House members would merge with the BJP.
The move triggered furious reactions from AAP leaders while drawing a warm welcome from the BJP.
As this happened, Sanjay Singh announced that he will write to the Rajya Sabha chairman to demand the disqualification of the defecting MPs, citing the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which details provisions of disqualification on the grounds of defection.
