AAP seeks disqualification of Raghav Chadha, other defecting MPs; submits plea

Group led by Raghav Chadha claims that it fulfills required two-third strength making the merger with the BJP legal; however, the AAP has said that such a decision has to be taken by the party

Denouncing the move by seven Rajya Sabha members who recently quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and announced their merger with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the AAP’s leader in the Upper House Sanjay Singh on Sunday (April 26, 2026) submitted a petition to Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan seeking their disqualification.

Denouncing the move by seven Rajya Sabha members who recently quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and announced their merger with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the AAP’s leader in the Upper House Sanjay Singh on Sunday (April 26, 2026) submitted a petition to Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan seeking their disqualification

Mr. Singh, addressing a press conference, said the move by the Raghav Chadha-led group was against the provisions of the anti-defection law. The party urged the Chairman to terminate their memberships underlining that they were elected to the Upper House on AAP tickets but later decided to leave the party and join the BJP.

Denouncing the move by seven Rajya Sabha members who recently quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and announced their merger with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the AAP’s leader in the Upper House Sanjay Singh on Sunday (April 26, 2026) submitted a petition to Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan seeking their disqualification.

Mr. Singh, addressing a press conference, said the move by the Raghav Chadha-led group was against the provisions of the anti-defection law. The party urged the Chairman to terminate their memberships underlining that they were elected to the Upper House on AAP tickets but later decided to leave the party and join the BJP.

On Friday (April 24, 2026), Mr. Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikram Sahni and Swati Maliwal quit and merged with the BJP. AAP has 10 members in the Upper House. The defecting group argues that as per the law, it has the required two-third strength. The AAP, meanwhile, has argued in its petition that the law requires the “original party” to merge and, in this case, AAP has not taken such a call, which makes a case for their disqualification.

Denouncing the move by seven Rajya Sabha members who recently quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and announced their merger with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the AAP’s leader in the Upper House Sanjay Singh on Sunday (April 26, 2026) submitted a petition to Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan seeking their disqualification.

Mr. Singh, addressing a press conference, said the move by the Raghav Chadha-led group was against the provisions of the anti-defection law. The party urged the Chairman to terminate their memberships underlining that they were elected to the Upper House on AAP tickets but later decided to leave the party and join the BJP.

On Friday (April 24, 2026), Mr. Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikram Sahni and Swati Maliwal quit and merged with the BJP. AAP has 10 members in the Upper House. The defecting group argues that as per the law, it has the required two-third strength. The AAP, meanwhile, has argued in its petition that the law requires the “original party” to merge and, in this case, AAP has not taken such a call, which makes a case for their disqualification.

Six of the seven MPs who quit the party were Rajya Sabha members from Punjab. “These members were elected by the AAP and later chose to leave and join another party. This is a betrayal of the people of Punjab and also of the Constitution of India,” Mr. Singh said.

“After consulting constitutional experts and seeking legal opinion from Kapil Sibal [Rajya Sabha MP and senior Supreme Court lawyer], I have sent a petition to the Chairman requesting that the membership of these members be terminated as per the 10th Schedule of the Constitution,” Mr. Singh said. He termed the move by Mr. Chadha and the other MPs as a ‘’betrayal” of the people’s mandate and said that he expected the Chairman to take an ‘unbiased’ decision at the earliest. 

Six of the seven MPs who quit the party were Rajya Sabha members from Punjab. “These members were elected by the AAP and later chose to leave and join another party. This is a betrayal of the people of Punjab and also of the Constitution of India,” Mr. Singh said.