The perceived need for group bonding among the members of political parties in India appears to be growing at special moments. It acquires extreme importance after state election exit polls predicted a hung assembly, in which no party is projected to get a clear majority to form the government. For example, ahead of Thursday’s results, the Congress in Goa reportedly started gathering its candidates under one roof at a resort. In 2017, it failed to gain power in Panaji despite winning more seats than its rival Bharatiya Janata Party, which gained numbers and took charge. It has become almost routine for the parties to assemble their respective seat contenders at such times. While these huddles can host policy-pow-wows, they are usually firm cases aimed at preventing defection. Hopping parties have become commonplace and whispers of secret budgets to act as stimulus schemes are said to raise more inquiries than eyebrows. According to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms, from 2016 to 2020, 443 Indian lawmakers at the center and state level left their parties to contest on rival-party tickets. As in the ‘Aaya Ram’ days of the late 1960s, the party’s loyalty seems to be weakening in recent years.
The paradox is that the switchover of allegiance has gained momentum in times of intense political polarization among citizens at large. The breakdown of chat groups on social media is a testament to how easily casual chatter can be fueled by politics. Friendships are torn apart on one’s nationalism versus the other’s secularism. Even family relations have soured. Yet, our politicians often appear to put themselves above the deep divisions of ideology of this era. The general interpretation is also the most cynical: as in Spencer Johnson’s Who Moves My Cheese? In what is a popular parable on work-life motivation, those who seek public-life careers also pursue their own interests where rewards can be maximized. Parties with better win ratios and larger coffers have an edge over others in recruiting. Public life should be devoted to our collective good, things are of little importance in this scheme.
India has an anti-defection law, as we are reminded whenever there is a dispute about whether a member of a House should be fired for infidelity of rank. Ironically, when it was enacted in 1985, its whip was rebuked by critics for violating the spirit of our hard-earned representative democracy – a bust of leaders who masquerade as the voice of their conscience. Was elected. Party divisions, in particular, were not restricted. The fear of ‘supreme leader’ syndrome at the time, however, is now in evidence across party lines. Presidential-style elections condemning BR Ambedkar are now more or less the norm. This comes as no surprise to the voice and fury of today’s politics, as it is accompanied by media imagery that stunned few people found noticeable—minus the bits, and real news by fake forwards. is added as online. Such heavy-handed wooing of voters is a trend that is difficult to avoid. It has greatly undermined both the role and agency of our parliamentarians, individuals whose faith was expected to yield the power of every top leader. And it has, arguably, made room for a vibrant electoral-asset market. No matter how little it does business, it reflects poorly on our democracy. It doesn’t require a lab set-up to sniff out the relevance of “cheesy” movements, but an arty tale of novel lack that’s graphic enough can still bring anxiety to life.
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