Raghav Chadha, 6 MPs exit AAP: How numbers changed in Rajya Sabha | India News
Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha with Nitin Naveen and others (Photo/ANI)
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP resigns Raghav Chadha Significantly changed the composition of the upper house with six other members, strengthening the ruling BJP-led NDA and sharply reducing the presence of the Aam Aadmi Party.The move has also hurt the opposition camp, whose strength has come down from 84 to 77 members after the AAP split.After the BJP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha increased from 106 to 113 after the merger of breakaway AAP MPs, its position in the House was further consolidated. The total number of members of the upper house is 245.
In contrast, AAP’s strength has rapidly dwindled from 10 to just three members.The development comes after Chadda’s fellow MPs Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal announced their decision to quit AAP and join the BJP, triggering a widening split within the party. MPs including Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta and Vikram Sahni are also part of the party supporting the move.Announcing the decision, Chadha lashed out at his former team. “The Aam Aadmi Party, which I nurtured with my blood and sweat and to which I gave 15 years of my youth, has now completely deviated from its principles, values and core morals. The party is no longer working for the country or national interest, for personal gain,” he said.He also said that the split had the support of AAP’s majority MPs in the upper house. “We have decided that we, the two-thirds members of the AAP in the Rajya Sabha, will exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge ourselves with the BJP,” Chadha said.
NDA gains, BJP’s position is strong
By adding seven MPs, the BJP strengthened its position in the Rajya Sabha with 113 members.The larger National Democratic Alliance (NDA) holds a comfortable edge, with allies like the Janata Dal (United) with four members and the AIADMK supporting the alliance with five.
AAP lost only three MPs
For the AAP, the split resulted in a dramatic decline in parliamentary strength. The party now has only three MPs: Sanjay Singh, ND Gupta and Balbir Singh Sichewal.Sanjay Singh, who has been the party’s most vocal face in Parliament, slammed the defectors, accusing them of dividing the BJP. He alleged that central agencies were being used as part of a larger political strategy and called the outgoing MPs ‘traitors’.“Operation Lotus is being carried out on the Punjab government… ED and CBI are being used to carry out this Operation Lotus… People of Punjab will never forget these traitors,” he said.
Influence on opposition parties
The change has also affected the opposition camp, of which AAP is a part. The bloc’s combined strength in the Rajya Sabha has now come down to 77 members, from 84 earlier after the exit of seven MPs.This bloc is led by Congress (29 members), followed by Trinamool Congress (13) and parties like DMK (8), Samajwadi Party (4), CPI(M) (3), RJD (3), J&K National Conference (3), CPI (2), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (2), IUML (2), NCP (3).
A political turning point
The developments mark a major political turning point for the AAP, which has steadily built up its presence in the Rajya Sabha in recent years. The sudden loss of two-thirds of its MPs not only affects its numerical strength but also raises questions about the party’s internal cohesion.For the BJP, the gains strengthen its position in the upper house, giving it more room to push its legislative agenda with less reliance on external support.
