Will AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Face Disqualification After Joining BJP? Anti-Defection Law Explained
Practice PYQs on this topic
500+ questions on Polity with explanations
📌 Summary:
-
Seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs — Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Swati Maliwal, Vikramjit Sahney — joined the BJP, leaving AAP with just 3 Rajya Sabha members
-
Under the Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Law), they would NOT face disqualification because two-thirds of AAP's Rajya Sabha strength (7 of 10) have merged — qualifying as a valid "merger" under Para 4 of the Tenth Schedule
-
The Rajya Sabha Chairman will consider only the Upper House, where AAP had 10 members — 7 merging MPs (2/3rds) satisfy the merger threshold
-
Precedent: When C.M. Ramesh of TDP and two-thirds of TDP's Rajya Sabha members merged with BJP, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu approved the merger without disqualification
-
However, former Lok Sabha Secretary General P.D.T. Achary argues that the merger provision under Para 4 requires two-thirds of the "original party" strength (across both Houses), not just one House
-
AAP has alleged "Operation Lotus" — BJP's alleged tactic of poaching opposition legislators through inducements
-
Impact on AAP: Its Punjab government will not be affected; AAP retained its Punjab Assembly majority
🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 — Constitution and Polity (Tenth Schedule, Anti-Defection Law, Parliament); GS2 — Parliament functioning
📝 Prelims Facts:
-
Anti-Defection Law: Tenth Schedule of the Constitution (added by 52nd Amendment, 1985)
-
Para 4 of Tenth Schedule: Merger provision — valid if at least 2/3rds of party members in the House merge
-
Presiding Officer (Speaker/Chairman) decides disqualification petitions
-
"Operation Lotus" — colloquial term for alleged BJP tactic of engineering defections in opposition-ruled states
🔑 Key Term: Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Law) — Added by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment, 1985; disqualifies members who voluntarily give up party membership or vote against party whip; Para 4 allows defection if 2/3rds of party members in a House agree to merge with another party
UPSC Classification
See PYQs related to “Polity”
Every classification tag above links to actual UPSC questions asked on that topic — with answer, explanation and elimination logic. Only in the app.