Will AAP MPs face disqualification after joining BJP?

The story so far: In a setback to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha members, amounting to two-thirds of its strength in the Upper House, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on April 24. AAP MP Raghav Chadha, who was removed as the party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha three weeks ago, announced that he and six other party members had decided to “merge with the BJP”.

The anti-defection law, enshrined in the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1985, seeks to curb rampant floor-crossing by elected representatives in Parliament and State legislatures. It provides for the disqualification of a legislator if they voluntarily relinquish membership of the political party on whose ticket they were elected, or if they vote, or abstain from voting, in defiance of directions issued by their party or by an authorised functionary.