India, April 25 -- A major political and legal debate has emerged after Raghav Chadha, a Rajya Sabha MP from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), claimed that he and six other MPs have merged with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He argued that since two-thirds of AAP's Rajya Sabha members are part of this move, it may not count as defection under the Constitution's Tenth Schedule.

Can MPs avoid disqualification simply by meeting the 2/3 merger rule?

What is Anti-Defection Law & What the Tenth Schedule Says?

Under Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule, any legislator who voluntarily gives up membership of their party can be disqualified. In simple terms, an MP elected on one party's ticket cannot join another party without risking disqualification....