BJP Gains 7 Seats in Rajya Sabha After AAP Defections
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- BJP added seven former AAP legislators to its Rajya Sabha ranks, raising its count to 113 members, ten short of a simple majority in the 245‑member chamber.
- AAP saw its Rajya Sabha representation shrink to three seats after the defections.
- National Democratic Alliance now commands roughly 140 seats in the upper house and governs 19 of 28 states plus two of three federal territories.
- Raghav Chadha, a defecting AAP member and de facto group leader, accused the party of being run by “corrupt and compromised” people.
- Harbhajan Singh, former Indian cricketer, was among the seven AAP lawmakers who switched to the BJP.
- Arvind Kejriwal, AAP chief, faces multiple corruption cases; a February Delhi court declined to proceed with a trial against him, and the case has moved to a higher court.
- BJP’s strengthened position could ease the government’s passage of legislation.
Why it matters: The BJP’s gain of seven Rajya Sabha members brings it within ten votes of a simple majority, easing the passage of its legislative agenda, while the AAP’s reduced presence weakens its parliamentary influence and underscores internal dissent amid ongoing corruption probes against Arvind Kejriwal.
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