Why is defection a non-issue for voters?

The poor record on integrity and the frequent switching of candidates from one political party to another (defection) hardly worries the Indian electorate, as a very large section of the electorate chooses the party and not the candidate during elections. . If the merits of candidates have any bearing on the voting views of the Indian electorate, many defectors and candidates with dubious records do not enter the Indian Parliament or the various state legislatures.

In some instances, the elected MLA or MP may have well-established reasons for switching from one party to another. But the reason many MLAs and MPs join other parties purely for personal gain is because they know voters will not punish them for their actions and if they contest on the ticket of a “popular” political party. So will support them. Similarly, many of them also know that it is the ticket of the party and the popularity of its leader that helps them to win the election. They take care to make themselves known to the people and help them to complete their work. When some voters decide to choose a candidate instead of a party during an election, the ability to work is the candidate’s greatest asset, no matter what.

Findings of a national election study conducted by Lokniti-CSDS show, during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, 58% of voters mentioned voting for the party, while 33% said they voted for the candidate. The proportion of voters who voted for the party declined slightly to 52% during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, while 37% of voters preferred to vote for the candidate. There has been a slight increase in candidate-centred turnout among Indian voters during the past few years, but evidence from years of Lok Sabha and state assembly elections shows that a large majority of Indian voters vote for the party, not the candidate. This party-centric approach is prevalent among uneducated and educated voters, urban and rural voters and voters with different levels of media. It is this strong tendency of party-centred voting that neutralizes any resentment that voters may have about the defection of their elected representatives and contesting again on a different party ticket.

transfer the mandate

There are many instances of defectors being re-elected, on the ticket of the party they contested the last election on. 22 sitting MLAs of the Congress party, some of them ministers in the Kamal Nath government, joined the BJP in Madhya Pradesh in March 2020, of whom 19 were re-elected to the House as BJP MLAs. Another example that is fresh in our mind is Mahesh Iranagouda Kumathalli, who became the MLA of Athani assembly constituency in Karnataka on a Congress ticket in 2018, but joined the BJP and was re-elected to the House. How can one forget Suvendu Adhikari’s move from Trinamool Congress to BJP and his subsequent election to the West Bengal Assembly after defeating incumbent Chief Minister and overwhelming Mamata Banerjee. These are just a few examples from a long list of defectors and defectors who are re-elected soon after occupying key positions. Let us not forget, Vishwajit Rane, Congress MLA from Valpoi, Goa on March 16, 2017 and resigned as Minister of Health, Agriculture and Craftsmen Training, joined the BJP on April 7, 2017 and became part of the Parrikar government with health . portfolio. While this has been the dominant trend, the 2022 assembly elections in Goa came as an exception, when nine out of 12 defectors lost the assembly elections, some very badly. Yet, it is this widespread trend that encourages MLAs and MPs to switch sides without any valid reason other than for personal gain.

We can roughly predict when the four seasons – winter, spring, summer and monsoon begin – but one cannot predict when and where the defection will occur. Defection is not a new thing in Indian politics and it has been for a long time. Voters have seen this as a regular practice in Indian politics, and do not consider it a bad practice. There have been several attempts at different times by different governments to strengthen laws to curb this menace in politics. It was first introduced in the Fourth Lok Sabha in 1967 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, but the Act finally came into existence in 1984 during the tenure of the Rajiv Gandhi government. Significant amendments to the anti-defection law introduced by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2003 to strengthen the law failed to bring the desired results. The recent political drama that broke out with 37 Shiv Sena MLAs in Maharashtra is yet another example of how anti-defection law is being misused by groups/parties and dissident MLAs for personal and political gains.

Voting Preferences

Evidence from a national election study indicates that Indian voters are divided on what type of representatives they would like to vote for. Many of them do not express strong protest against candidates with tainted background or indulging in corrupt practices. While many are happy to vote for an honest but inaccessible candidate (48%), there are others (24%) who are happy to vote for a corrupt but accessible candidate.

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Similarly, 36% of voters are ready to vote for a candidate with criminal background but get the job done, while 35% are ready to vote for an honest candidate but cannot get the job done. I think we are close to answering why defection and corruption don’t matter much to the Indian electorate.

Sanjay Kumar is a Professor and Political Analyst at the Center for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi. Views expressed are personal