SP rebel MLAs join BJP: what the anti-defection law says about their Assembly seats

By Prakhar Shahi

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Chart: From cross-vote to BJP: SP's rebel MLAs

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  • : Corrected the lead image: the earlier photo showed the wrong person.

Three Samajwadi Party rebels joined the BJP in Amethi on 14 October. They lose their seats only if the Speaker disqualifies them, and no petition against them has been reported.

Original report · Explained

Can the SP rebel MLAs be disqualified after joining the BJP? Under the anti-defection law in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, they lose their seats only if the Assembly Speaker disqualifies them on a petition, and joining another party can be treated as voluntarily giving up membership of the old one (PRS Legislative Research, 2017). None of the reports we read says such a petition has been filed since Rakesh Pratap Singh, Abhay Singh and Vinod Chaturvedi joined the BJP at Gauriganj in Amethi on Wednesday 14 October 2026 (Hindustan Times, 2026; The Hindu, 2026).

The induction made the news. The law that decides whether the three keep their seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly did not (Wikipedia, 2026). This is what it says, who applies it and what is still unknown.

Three MLAs, one stage in Amethi

The three joined in the presence of Smriti Irani and UP BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary, Hindustan Times and The Hindu reported (Hindustan Times, 2026; The Hindu, 2026). Their seats:

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav responded on X: "Such people come and go" (The Hindu, 2026). Chaudhary said the BJP would form the state government for a third time, The Hindu reported (The Hindu, 2026).

Wednesday's switch was the end of a split that began more than two and a half years earlier.

The split began with a 2024 cross-vote

Seven SP MLAs cross-voted for BJP candidates in the February 2024 Rajya Sabha election, and the SP's third nominee, Alok Ranjan, lost, Hindustan Times reported (Hindustan Times, 2026).

That makes five of the seven cross-voters now in the BJP. Whether the three can keep their seats turns on one part of the Constitution.

What the Tenth Schedule says about switching parties

A legislator is deemed to have defected in two cases, according to the PRS Legislative Research explainer on the law: if he voluntarily gives up membership of his party, or if he defies the party whip on a vote (PRS Legislative Research, 2017).

The Supreme Court has read "voluntarily gives up membership" widely. It can be inferred from conduct, such as publicly backing another party, PRS notes (PRS Legislative Research, 2017).

The only protection for a switch is a merger, which needs at least two-thirds of a party's legislators in favour (PRS Legislative Research, 2017). None of the reports we read describes a merger of the SP's legislators with the BJP.

The law also names who decides, and that is where the timing question begins.

The Speaker decides, within limits set by the Supreme Court

Disqualification is decided by the presiding officer, on a petition from another member of the House (PRS Legislative Research, 2017). In Uttar Pradesh that is the Speaker, Satish Mahana.

In its 2020 ruling in Keisham Meghachandra Singh v Speaker, Manipur Legislative Assembly, the Supreme Court set an outer limit of three months from filing for a Speaker to decide such petitions, LiveLaw reported (LiveLaw, 2020).

Uttar Pradesh has tested that before. In 2020 the Allahabad High Court issued notice to the UP Speaker on a plea about disqualification petitions against Congress MLAs that had been pending since May and November 2019 (LiveLaw, 2020).

Even with that rule, three questions are open for these MLAs.

What the reports do not settle

Questions people are asking

Will the three SP MLAs lose their seats after joining the BJP?

Only if the Speaker disqualifies them under the Tenth Schedule on a petition. Joining another party can be treated as voluntarily giving up membership (PRS Legislative Research, 2017).

Who decides on disqualification?

The Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, on a petition from another member (PRS Legislative Research, 2017).

How long can the Speaker take?

The Supreme Court set an outer limit of three months from filing in 2020 (LiveLaw, 2020).

How many seats are in the UP Assembly?

403, elected in 2022 (Wikipedia, 2026).

What happens next

No date is set for any step. The next UP Assembly election is due in 2027 (Hindustan Times, 2026). If the SP files a petition, the Supreme Court's three-month outer limit would run from that filing (LiveLaw, 2020).

References

How we did this

We compared three reports on the induction published on 14 and 15 October 2026, from Hindustan Times, The Hindu and The Indian Express. They covered who joined, the speeches and the 2024 background; none set out the law that decides the MLAs' seats. We added that from the PRS Legislative Research explainer on the anti-defection law and the LiveLaw report on the Supreme Court's three-month limit and the 2020 Uttar Pradesh case, and built the timeline of the seven 2024 cross-voters. We did not read the court judgments themselves.

This story was produced, reviewed, edited and verified by the reporter before publication, with AI assistance where required.

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