New Delhi, April 26: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Sunday announced that the party has formally filed a disqualification petition under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution against seven MPs who resigned from AAP and are set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Singh urged Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan to schedule an early hearing and deliver a fair ruling on the anti-defection matter.

The Defection That Shook AAP's Rajya Sabha Strength

The political crisis erupted after Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha announced his resignation from AAP on Friday, April 25, alongside six fellow MPs — Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikram Sahni. All seven are expected to formally merge with the BJP in the coming days.

Chadha described the group as a two-thirds faction of AAP's Rajya Sabha members, a numerical threshold that carries specific legal significance under anti-defection law. Under the Tenth Schedule, a merger is legally valid only if at least two-thirds of a party's legislative members in a House join another party — a provision the departing MPs appear to be invoking as a shield against disqualification.

Sanjay Singh's Legal and Constitutional Argument

Addressing a press conference, Sanjay Singh cited prominent legal voices to reinforce AAP's case. He quoted: Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and constitutional expert P. D. T. Achary have clearly stated that the seven members who decided to break away from AAP and merge with BJP will have their memberships terminated, cancelled, and ended.

Singh argued that the petition formally requests the Rajya Sabha Chairman to invoke the Tenth Schedule and cancel the memberships of all seven defecting MPs. He emphasised that a prompt hearing is critical to uphold constitutional integrity.

Singh did not mince words on the moral dimension, stating that this move amounts to a betrayal of democracy, a betrayal of the people of Punjab, and a betrayal of the country's Constitution. He added that any elected representative with genuine ideological differences must first resign their seat before switching allegiances.

Anti-Defection Law: What the Tenth Schedule Says

The Tenth Schedule, introduced by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment in 1985, was designed specifically to curb opportunistic party-switching by elected representatives. It disqualifies members who voluntarily give up party membership or vote against party direction. However, a critical exception — Paragraph 4 — permits a merger if at least two-thirds of the party's members in that House agree to join another party.

This two-thirds clause is precisely what Chadha's faction is banking on. AAP currently has 10 Rajya Sabha members, and seven defecting MPs would constitute exactly 70% — numerically satisfying the merger threshold. However, AAP and constitutional experts like P. D. T. Achary argue that a valid merger requires the original party itself to merge, not just a faction of its parliamentary members in one House.

Notably, the Supreme Court of India has repeatedly held that the Speaker or Chairman's decision on disqualification petitions is subject to judicial review, meaning this battle could ultimately land in court regardless of the Chairman's ruling.

The Punjab Factor: Why This Matters Beyond Delhi

Five of the seven defecting MPs — including Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikram Sahni — were elected from Punjab, where AAP holds a decisive majority government under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Their defection is not merely a parliamentary arithmetic issue; it strikes at the credibility of AAP's political narrative in its strongest state bastion.

Critics argue that this mass exodus signals deeper internal fractures within AAP, coming at a time when the party is already navigating the legal and political fallout from the arrest of its national convener Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi liquor policy case. The BJP, meanwhile, stands to gain experienced upper-house voices with direct Punjab connections ahead of future electoral cycles.

What Happens Next

The petition now rests with Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan, who must decide whether to admit the petition, schedule hearings, and ultimately rule on disqualification. Historically, such petitions have faced prolonged delays — the Manipur defection cases of 2020 and several Lok Sabha petitions lingered for months or years without resolution, a pattern critics cite as a systemic weakness in India's anti-defection enforcement.

If the Chairman rules in AAP's favour, the seven MPs could lose their Rajya Sabha seats, triggering by-elections or fresh nominations. If the two-thirds merger argument is accepted, all seven retain their seats under the BJP banner. Legal challenges before the Supreme Court are widely anticipated regardless of the outcome.

With the formal BJP merger expected within days and the constitutional petition now on record, the coming weeks will test both the robustness of India's anti-defection framework and the political futures of seven MPs who chose to cross the aisle.