The Tamil Nadu government has written to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to relieve Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal from the BSF, according to official sources.

The recent developments within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), appear to have dealt a decisive blow to its representation in the Rajya Sabha. On April 24, 2026, seven out of its 10 sitting Members of Parliament, publicly announced that over two-thirds of the party’s MPs had decided to merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), invoking the provisions of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.

While the development has attracted widespread political attention, its implications extend beyond immediate partisan concerns. It raises significant constitutional questions regarding the interpretation of the anti-defection law, particularly the scope of the “merger” exception under the 10th Schedule. Nor is the episode entirely unprecedented. Similar assertions of legislative strength have been witnessed at the State level, most notably in the case of the Eknath Shinde-led faction in the Shiv Sena within the Maharashtra Assembly. However, the present instance assumes greater significance as it unfolds at the national level, involving MPs in the Rajya Sabha, thereby amplifying its constitutional and political consequences.

Also Read | Meant to protect free speech from anti-defection law, ‘merger’ is now a defence for joining a rival party 

Anti-defection framework, ‘split’ doctrine

The Constitution, as originally adopted in 1950, provided for disqualification of MPs on limited grounds under Article 103, to be decided by the President of India acting on the opinion of the Election Commission of India. The 10th Schedule, introduced by the 52nd Constitution Amendment Act, 1985, expanded this framework to address the persistent problem of political defections adding another ground for disqualification of members to be decided by the Speaker or Chairman. The objective was to curb the practice of elected representatives abandoning their parties for political gain, by attaching the consequence of disqualification.

At the same time, the Schedule originally carved out two exceptions, “split” under Paragraph 3 and “merger” under Paragraph 4. The first, which recognised a split in a legislature party where one-third of its members formed a separate faction, was subsequently deleted by the 91st Constitution Amendment Act, 2003, following recommendations of Electoral Reforms (Dinesh Goswami Committee) in May 1990 and the 170th Law Commission Report, 1999. This deletion marked a conscious shift away from recognising internal fractures within legislature parties as a legitimate defence to defection.

The omission of Paragraph 3 carries deeper implications. The concept of “split” had implicitly recognised a degree of autonomy in the legislature party vis-à-vis the political party. Its removal signals Parliament’s clear intent to restore primacy to the political party as the central unit of democratic accountability.

The Supreme Court of India has also reinforced this position in Subhash Desai vs Principal Secretary, Governor of Maharashtra (2023), where a Constitution Bench declined to interpret the 10th Schedule in a manner that severs the figurative umbilical cord between a legislature party and its parent political party. The Court underscored that the political party continues to guide and control the actions of its elected members, even after electoral victory.

Watch | AAP loses 7 Rajya Sabha MPs in one blow, what now? | The Hindu Explains

The merger exception in question

The present controversy centres on the interpretation of Paragraph 4 of the 10th Schedule, which provides immunity from disqualification in cases of merger. The key question is whether such a merger can be effected solely by two-thirds of the members of a legislature party, or whether it must necessarily be preceded by, or reflect, a decision of the original political party itself.

A plain reading of Paragraph 4 suggests that the exemption applies where the “original political party” merges with another political party. The emphasis, therefore, is on the merger of the political party, not merely a numerical alignment within the legislature party. Hence, Paragraph 4(2), which introduces a deeming fiction based on the consent of two-thirds of legislators, cannot be read in isolation so as to displace the primacy of the political organisation. To do so would invert the constitutional design, effectively allowing the legislature party to dictate the fate of the political party.

This interpretation would be inconsistent with Parliament’s decision in exercise of constituent power to abolish the “split” exception, which had earlier permitted even a one-third faction to claim legitimacy. The threshold may have changed, but the principle remains that the internal dissent within the legislature party cannot override the identity and continuity of the political party.

Editorial | ​Gang of seven: On the AAP defections

Beyond technicalities

At a broader level, the anti-defection law was not merely intended to regulate individual conduct but to preserve the integrity of the party system and, by extension, the institution of ‘opposition’ in democracy. While it does not entirely prohibit political realignments, it subjects them to constitutional discipline.

The recent AAP episode underscores the need for judicial clarity on whether legislative majorities can, in effect, appropriate the identity of the political party they were elected to represent. The answer will have far-reaching implications for parliamentary democracy.

As lyricist and former parliamentarian Javed Akhtar once observed in the Rajya Sabha, the essential distinction between democracy and dictatorship lies in the presence of an opposition. It is this opposition that the 10th Schedule seeks to safeguard. AAP has approached the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha under Paragraph 6 of the 10th Schedule to challenge the action of its seven “merged” MPs.

How the merger exception is ultimately interpreted will be significant, particularly for the continued vitality of the Opposition. In the absence of settled judicial clarity, the issue is likely, sooner rather than later, to invite authoritative determination by the Supreme Court. The hope, ultimately, is that constitutional adjudication will preserve the centrality of political parties within India’s parliamentary framework.

Vanshaj Azad is an Advocate, presently working as Law Clerk-cum-Research Associate at the Supreme Court of India

Published – May 27, 2026 12:52 am IST

According to an announcement by the Election Commission of India, the notification regarding the biennial polls will be issued on June 1.
| Photo Credit: File photo

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam supporters burst crackers and distribute sweets in Tiruchi, celebrating the swearing-in of party president C. Joseph Vijay as Chief Minister on May 10, 2026.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Logo of Election Commission of India in New Delhi. File

Supreme Court of India. File.
| Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Jharkhand Assembly election results will be announced on Saturday, November 23. Voting was held on the state’s 81 seats in two phases – on November 13 and 20. The primary contest in the state is between the ruling JMM-led INDIA bloc and the BJP-headed National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Results will also be declared for Maharashtra Assembly elections and by-polls in 14 states on the same day. The counting of votes will begin at 8 am and people will get to know by afternoon who is forming the next government in Jharkhand.

Both INDIA alliance and NDA carried out a high-octane campaigning in Jharkhand.

Ahead of results, Congress leader Rajesh Thakur on Friday expressed confidence that Mahagathbandhan, including Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress, will form government in the state.

Thakur, former Jharkhand Congress chief, said that he wasn’t sure about the number of seats Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was going to win since earlier they said they would win 65 seats, but now they are saying they will win 55 assembly seats.

BJP spokesperson Pratul Shah Deo, however, countered saying that they believe that NDA’s majority government will be formed in Jharkhand tomorrow evening.

Jharkhand Assembly Results: Where To Watch Results Live?

As per ECI, the counting of votes will begin at 8 am on Saturday, November 23.

You can watch the live coverage of the crucial Assembly election results on the NDTV news channel. You can also watch the live-stream of the election results on NDTV’s YouTube channel and catch the live updates on NDTV.com.

You can also follow our coverage on all social media platforms and NDTV’s live blog.

The results will also be available on ECI website (https://results.eci.gov.in). The website will give out real-time updates on counting trends and results.

What Exit Polls Predicted?

The BJP and its allies will likely emerge victorious in the Jharkhand assembly election, according to four exit polls. One exit poll forecast a win by the alliance comprising Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).

Health warning: Exit polls often get it wrong.

A voter deposits his voting machine activation card in a box after casting his ballot at a polling site at Henderson City Hall in Henderson, Nevada on November 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Donald Trump has returned to power in the United States following a decisive win in both the popular vote and electoral college vote in the presidential elections. This emphatic win made it easy for journalists to cover the results. It was clear fairly early during the counting process that Mr. Trump was going to win the election and also sweep the ‘swing States’.

This is in marked contrast to the 2020 election, which was full of controversies, both manufactured and real. A staggering number of Americans cast their ballots before voting day in that election, held during the COVID-19 pandemic; this stretched the counting process by days. Mr. Trump lost, but refused to concede the election to Joe Biden. The results were much closer than what the opinion polls had anticipated. The slow counting process strained the coverage.

In the U.S., on counting day, data is provided by the news agency, Associated Press (AP), and a few others. This means that the result is “called” by media outlets, which estimate the chances of a candidate winning a State based on trends that are available from this data. While the U.S. Federal Election Commission monitors implementation of campaign finance laws and the conduct of federal elections, it does not provide live electoral data. This is either collated by agencies such as AP, and released to subscribers via an Application Programming Interface, or is provided by each respective State, mostly by their Secretaries of State.

This is unlike the process in India, where the Election Commission of India (ECI) provides live counting data for each constituency, whether Assembly or parliamentary. Media outlets, especially television journalists, also use agencies or their own reporters to provide information on trends from counting centres. However, these are not always accurate. The slower and steadier trends that trickle in from the ECI website, which are authenticated by polling agents at counting centres, give media outlets and the general public a clear picture on electoral trends. The structured manner in which the ECI presents its results also helps media outlets and data enthusiasts, such as those in The Hindu, to parse that information and present it separately with more granular information. This includes, for instance, data on rural and urban voting trends across States.

While U.S. news agencies and media outlets are efficient in presenting results, the situation in India is different: the information is not available to only a select few outlets, and is collated and displayed in a structured manner by the ECI for anyone to use. The ECI also presents ‘deep-dive data’ — for instance, information from polling booths on how voters choose their candidates. It also provides Assembly segment-wise data for parliamentary constituencies. While this information is uploaded onto the website after a lag — it can take a few weeks after results are announced — the fact that it is made available is useful for social scientists and journalists to analyse the results even further, long after the excitement over elections dies down.

For a data journalist, the Indian model of providing electoral results via a public authority works much better than the American one. In recent years, the ECI has received a lot of flak for various issues, such as the robustness of the Electronic Voting Machines (an overblown controversy), the patchy implementation of the Model Code of Conduct (a legitimate criticism), the dilation of the voting process in some States (unavoidable in a few cases), and the relative laxity in regulating campaign expenditure (which is becoming a problem). But what must be appreciated by publicly minded people in India is that the ECI releases structured voting data in a transparent, timely, and efficient manner.

srinivasan.vr@thehindu.co.in

The Election Commission of India announced the voting dates for Maharashtra this afternoon. Voting in Maharashtra will take place on November 20 and votes will be counted three days later on November 23. Meanwhile, Jharkhand will vote in two phases on November 13 and 20. Counting for both states will take place on November 23. The Chief Election Commissioner said with elections, were are setting gold standards, referring to the ‘free and fair elections’ in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.

In 2019, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising a then unified Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), along with the Congress, had won 154 of 288 seats. This time, the Shiv Sena and NCP split into two factions. 

Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is ready to lock horns with the BJP. In the 2019 elections, JMM won 30 seats and formed the government with the Congress, which has won 16 seats.

Here are the Live Updates on the big story:

Chief Election Commissioner Responds To Queries On EVMs
“Before 5-6 months of polls, checking begins. At every step of the EVM process, political parties or their agents are present. We put in a new battery and after sealing there are signatures of the agent. There’s 3-layer of security including CAPF and observers. The process is videographed. The EVM numbers are also shared. When polls are closed, even then we take signatures. How much more can we show? On counting day, it goes inside barricading. There’s a provision for objecting to any of this at any stage which did not happen,” Mr Rajiv Kumar said.

“It has a single-use battery which can be used for 5-7 days. It’s like a calculator battery. We have made a provision. It is initially marked as it’s 99 per cent and charged. It can differ based on the voltage difference. When it drops to 5.8%, it gives a signal,” he said.

“Matter Of Introspection For Media”: Chief Election Commissioner On Exit Polls

“Because of exit polls and expectations set by them a big distortion is being created. This is a matter of introspection. We need to consider the sample size, what was the result. If my result doesn’t match with the actual result, we need to think about it,” CEC Rajiv Kumar said.

“It creates an expectation which has no scientific basis. The leads shown at 8.05 and 8.10 are nonsense. The counting starts at 8.30. Is it to validate the exit polls? We reflect results at 9.30, 11.30 then 1.30. It takes some time to upload results because of all the processes. So, when the actual results come, there is a mismatch. The gap between expectation and reality is frustration,” he added.

Maharashtra, Jharkhand Assembly Elections: Full Schedule Of Polling In 2 States

Maharashtra to vote in single phase (288 seats)

Date of Poll: November 20 

Counting of Votes: November 23

Jharkhand – Polls in 2 phases (81 seats)

Date of poll: Nov 13, Nov 20

Counting of votes: November 23

Jharkhand Elections Date Live: Full Schedule

Election Dates Live: Schedule For Bye-Elections

Jharkhand Elections Date Live: Voting To Take Place In 2 Phases, Counting On November 23
Voting in Jharkhand will take place in two phases – November 13 and November 20. Counting will take place on November 23.

Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Full Schedule

Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Voting On November 20, Counting On November 23

Maharashtra

Start of Nomination: 22 October

Last date for Nomination: 29 October

Date of Poll: 20 November

Date of Counting: 23 November

Maharashtra Elections Date: Elections in Maharashtra To Be Held In Single Phase
Voting in Maharashtra will take place in a single phase, announces Election Commission of India.

Maharashtra, Jharkhand Election Dates Live: Over 12 Crore Electors Eligible To Vote
Over 12 crore electors are eligible to vote in Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said.

Jharkhand Elections Date Live: Total Electors In The State

Jharkhand Elections Date Live: General Overview Of Polling Stations In The State

Maharashtra Elections Date Live: General Overview Of Electorates In Maharashtra

Elections Date Live: We Reviewed Situation In Maharashtra and Jharkhand

“We recently visited Maharashtra and Jharkhand and reviewed the situation there after several meetings with officials,” Mr Kumar said.

Elections Live: “Setting Gold Standards In Every Election,” Says Poll Body Chief
“Before starting the briefing, I would like to congratulate all voters from Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir for participating in big numbers. India is setting records in every election. We are setting a new gold standard…We declare are will and intent first and fulfill,” Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said.

Maharashtra, Jharkhand Assembly Elections: Poll Body Briefing Begins
Election Commission presser begins. The poll body will be announcing the dates for Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections.

Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Congress Expels MLA After He Joins Ajit Pawar’s Faction

The Congress has expelled MLA Hiraman Khoskar from the party for six years for indulging in “anti-party activities” after he joined the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

He Khoskar, who represents the Igatpuri assembly constituency in Nashik district, joined the ruling NCP on Monday.

In a letter dated October 14, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said the legislator was involved in “anti-party activities during the Lok Sabha polls and even after that”.

Maharashtra, Jharkhand Assembly Elections: Congress Appoints Observers For Polls
The Congress on Tuesday appointed division-wise AICC senior observers for the Maharashtra Assembly polls with Ashok Gehlot and G Parameshwara to look after the Mumbai and Konkan region and Sachin Pilot and Uttam Kumar Reddy to oversee the Marathwada region.

As the Congress gets battle-ready for the next round of assembly polls, the opposition party also appointed three AICC senior observers for Jharkhand assembly elections — Tariq Anwar, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu.

Elections Date Live: Break-up Of Seats In 2019 Maharashtra Elections
Maharashtra has 288 seats, with a majority mark of 145. In 2019, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 105 seats but the undivided NCP, Shiv Sena and the Congress formed the government after winning 54, 56 and 44 seats respectively, forming the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Thirteen independent candidates won in the polls and one seat was won by a political party.

Elections Date Live: Break-up Of Seats In 2019 Jharkhand Elections

Jharkhand has 81 assembly seats with a majority mark of 41. The 2019 elections saw a close contest between the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the BJP, with the former winning 30 and the latter securing 25 seats. The Congress emerged as the third-largest party with 16 seats.

The JVM (Jharkhand Vikas Morcha) got 3 seats, the AJSU (All Jharkhand Students Union) won 2 seats. Two independent candidates won in the 2019 elections along with three other parties winning one-one seat each.

Assembly Elections Live: Maharashtra, Jharkhand Elections Will Be The Last Set Of Polls In 2024

This year’s election will probably be the last prestige battle of 2024 with the fractured Shiv Sena and NCP battling the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance.

Sources in the BJP told NDTV the party will contest on 158 of the state’s 288 seats. It has offered 70 seats to Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and 50 to Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party.

The Congress, battered by the Haryana defeat, will face an upbeat BJP. Among the key figures to be watched out in the poll season in Maharashtra will be Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who has held a series of hunger strikes to demand reservation for the community.