Merger of 7 AAP MPs into BJP Approved; Rajya Sabha Chairman Grants Permission; NDA Tally Reaches 148

A major political development unfolded in the Rajya Sabha in New Delhi on Monday. Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan officially approved the merger of seven Members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Following this decision, AAP's strength in the Upper House has dwindled to a mere three MPs.

BJP's Strength in Rajya Sabha Rises to 113

Meanwhile, this shift has directly benefited the BJP, with its tally in the Rajya Sabha rising to 113. Concurrently, the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) total count has reached 148. The seven MPs who have merged with the BJP include Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Vikramjit Sahney, Swati Maliwal, and Rajinder Gupta. All of them are now listed as BJP MPs on the official Rajya Sabha website.

AAP Had Demanded Cancellation of Membership

According to reports, these MPs had requested the Chairman on Friday to recognize them as members of the BJP following the merger. The Chairman accepted their request. However, prior to this, the Aam Aadmi Party had demanded action against these seven MPs. The party had filed a petition before the Rajya Sabha Chairman, appealing for the cancellation of their membership.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh had stated that MPs who leave their party to join another should be disqualified. Notably, AAP suffered a major setback last Friday when seven of its Rajya Sabha MPs announced their decision to quit the party and join the BJP. These leaders alleged that the party, led by Arvind Kejriwal, had drifted away from its core principles and values.