Political Defection in India: A Menace to the Stability of Indian Parliamentary Democracy

Abstract

The term ‘Political Defection’ has become a conspicuous feature of the present day Indian politics. A political defector is said to be the person who leaves his political party after being elected on its ticket or disobey the directive of the party on the floor of the legislature. Thus, political defection or frequent floor-crossing by a legislator triggering several round of political defections has resulted in the dissolution of a number of state legislatures. This worst cyclic game of political defection often becomes a threat to the stability of an elected government causing thereby an end to value-based politics. Recent incidents of Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka are only few testimonies of the above fact. Thus political defection is becoming day by day a serious blow to the stability of an elected government in India. This paper discusses the causes and effects of frequent floor-crossing as well as the measures taken by the government to curb the evil of political defection. This paper comes out with some specific suggestions to combat the political defections.