Raghav Chadha was in focus after he reportedly led six Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MPs towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a move seen as a setback for Arvind Kejriwal’s party.
The political move triggered a numbers crisis for AAP, which is said to have lost seven of its 10 MPs. It also raised the possibility of a prolonged legal debate under the anti-defection law as per the Tenth Schedule, which requires a two-thirds majority for lawmakers switching parties to avoid disqualification.
Under this rule, legislators can shift allegiance only if at least two-thirds of a party’s members agree to the move. If this condition is met, members are not disqualified and may either join the new party or function as a separate group.
In this case, the number required was seven MPs, and Chadha plus six others met the threshold.
However, the situation could have taken a very different turn if Raghav Chadha’s proposed amendment bill had been implemented.
Chadha’s 3/4th Bill In 2022
Back in August 2022, in his first major legislative move as a Rajya Sabha MP, Chadha had proposed strengthening the anti-defection law by increasing the threshold from two-thirds to three-fourths. He also suggested that defecting MPs be barred from contesting elections for six years.
Had this proposal been passed, the required cut-off would have increased to eight MPs instead of seven, meaning Chadha would have needed support from seven additional MPs, not just six.
Chadha had strongly criticised what he called “nefarious floor crossing by legislators in total disregard of the democratic wishes of the electorate who returned them” while introducing the bill.
His proposal also sought amendments to key constitutional provisions, including Article 102, which deals with disqualification of Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies. It further recommended that defecting lawmakers must appear before the House Chair within a week of withdrawing support.
Meanwhile, data from the Association for Democratic Reforms shows that over 100 MPs and MLAs switched to the BJP between 2016 and 2021, including former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia. His defection led to the fall of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh and weakened the party’s position significantly.