Rajya Sabha Chairman Approves Merger of AAP MPs with BJP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, has suffered a major setback. Seven of its Rajya Sabha MPs recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The merger has now been officially approved by Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan today. As per the Rajya Sabha website, AAP’s strength has dropped from 10 MPs to 3. Meanwhile, BJP’s numbers have increased from 106 to 113. The NDA’s overall strength has also risen from 141 to 148, bringing it closer to the majority mark of 123 seats in the Rajya Sabha.

It is reported that the Rajya Sabha Chairman took legal opinion on the merger letter submitted by the AAP MPs who joined the BJP. All seven MPs had signed the letter. As per the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, a merger can be approved if two-thirds of the members agree, which appears to have been considered by the Chairman. The MPs involved in the merger include Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Vikramjit Sahney, Ashok Mittal and Rajender Gupta. Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party has also requested the Rajya Sabha Chairman to disqualify these MPs.