New Delhi: In a significant political development, seven Members of Parliament from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Raghav Chadha, have officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The group includes senior leaders such as Ashok Kumar Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahni, and Swati Maliwal. All seven leaders had earlier submitted their resignations from AAP on May 24, citing internal challenges within the party.

The Rajya Sabha Secretariat has approved their request to join the BJP, formally recognizing them as members of the ruling party.

Following this development, the BJP's strength in the 245-member Upper House has increased to 113 seats, while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) tally has risen to 148, crossing the majority mark of 123. However, a two-thirds majority would require 163 seats.

Meanwhile, the AAP has moved a petition before Chairman CP Radhakrishnan seeking the disqualification of the seven MPs who switched allegiance.

Explaining his decision, Raghav Chadha stated that a “toxic atmosphere” within the party and restrictions on leadership roles influenced his resignation. He elaborated on these concerns through a video statement shared on social media.