The strength of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Rajya Sabha has risen to 113 following the approval of a merger involving seven Members of Parliament (MPs) who resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The decision was cleared by Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan.

The development marks a significant setback for the AAP, which has lost two-thirds of its strength in the Upper House and is now reduced to just three members.

Among those who switched sides are Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, who resigned from the AAP and joined the BJP in the presence of senior party leadership. Other MPs who moved to the BJP include Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Swati Maliwal.

The merger was challenged through a petition that questioned its validity under Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. The petition also sought disqualification of the MPs under Paragraph 2(1)(a), which deals with defection.

Under Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule, a member of a House belonging to a political party can be disqualified if they voluntarily give up membership of that party. However, Paragraph 4 provides an exception in cases of a merger, subject to specific conditions.

The petitioner argued that the requirements for a valid merger under the Constitution were not met, thereby questioning the legality of the MPs’ transition. Despite the challenge, the Chairman approved the merger, effectively protecting the members from disqualification proceedings under anti-defection provisions.

The development has altered the balance of strength in the Rajya Sabha and is expected to have implications for legislative proceedings in the Upper House.