India, May 5 -- A recent political development in the Rajya Sabha has once again exposed a constitutional paradox that has long remained under-examined. Seven Members of Parliament belonging to the Aam Aadmi Party-six representing Punjab and one representing Delhi-have shifted allegiance to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Numerically, this constitutes more than two-thirds of the party's strength in the House, thereby attracting the "merger" exception under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India. Constitutionally, the recognition of this shift by the Chairperson is unassailable. Normatively, however, it raises a deeper question: has the law, in preserving stability, diluted representation?

The anti-defection framework, introduced thr...