Why Raghav Chadha needed 7 MPs to quit AAP

Raghav Chadha quit the Aam Aadmi Party with six other Rajya Sabha MPs and joined the BJP. Their two-thirds strength is central to why the move is unlikely to trigger the anti-defection law.

In Short

• Chadha's move reduces AAP's strength to three
• AAP MPs unlikely to face anti-defection law
• Article 102 empowers Constitution's Tenth Schedule

Raghav Chadha on Friday delivered one of the biggest political surprises of 2026 by quitting the Aam Aadmi Party along with six other Rajya Sabha MPs to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.

While Chadha's move to the BJP was expected following his removal as deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha earlier this month, the shocker was his announcement that two-thirds of AAP MPs would merge with the BJP.

Along with Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal, Rajinder Gupta and Vikram Sahney also jumped the ship.

WHY THE NUMBER MATTERS NOW

The coordinated move has left the Aam Aadmi Party with just three Rajya Sabha MPs. Had Raghav Chadha acted alone, he would have risked losing his Rajya Sabha seat under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, popularly known as the anti-defection law. However, the law does not apply when at least two-thirds of the members of a legislative party merge with another party.

In this case, since seven out of 10 AAP Rajya Sabha MPs have moved together, none of them is expected to attract disqualification under the anti-defection law.

Article 102 of the Constitution of India sets out the grounds for disqualification of an MP or MLA and empowers the Tenth Schedule to regulate such matters. The anti-defection law, as contained in the Tenth Schedule, provides for the disqualification of MPs and MLAs on the grounds of defection.

WHY ANTI-DEFECTION LAW WAS INTRODUCED

After the Assembly elections in 1967, numerous defections by MLAs were witnessed across states and several state governments were brought down due to these defections. The popular term "aaya Ram, gaya Ram" emerged following one such defection, when a Haryana MLA named Gaya Ram shifted his allegiance thrice in a span of just two weeks.

After serious concerns regarding the situation were raised in the Lok Sabha, a high-level committee was set up under the then Home Minister Yashwantrao Chavan to examine the problem.

The committee submitted its report on the issue through which they not only defined what a defection is but also provided exceptions for cases where the defection was genuine. Ultimately, the Tenth Schedule finally came into being through the Constitution (52nd Amendment) Act in 1985.

THE 2003 AMENDMENT TO LAW

In 2003, the Constitution (91st Amendment) Act was introduced in Parliament as a result of which the provisions regarding protection granted to legislators in cases of a split in the party under the Tenth Schedule were deleted.

A committee headed by Pranab Mukherjee, who later went on to become the President of India, observed that the lure for office of profit plays a big role in encouraging defections and political horse-trading.

The amendment also stated that anyone disqualified under the Tenth Schedule would also be automatically disqualified from a ministerial post, whether at the Centre or State level.

The law does not specify a time limit for deciding disqualification cases against legislators. As Speakers have become increasingly political, such cases are either decided quickly or delayed indefinitely, depending on what suits the ruling party. Hence, many analysts have called the law a "toothless tiger".

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