The fear of legislators defecting to other political parties, both on the eve of elections and after, is apparent. In an attempt to keep its flock together, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Goa made its candidates contesting in the upcoming state polls sign anti-defection affidavit stating that they would stick to the party. The Congress, which was a victim of defection in Manipur and Goa in the previous assembly elections, went the AAP way by making its candidates take a loyalty pledge and sign an affidavit not to defect. This step may stop or at least reduce the extent of defection but it surely puts legislators and politics as a vocation in a bad light. It sends out a message that politicians are opportunistic and not trust-worthy. It is surely not fair to paint all legislators with the same brush but the stereotypical unattractive image that has been engraved in the minds of the people is their own making in more ways than one. The spurt of legislators switching sides in the five poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur doesn’t help the image of politicians. Some switched sides before the announcement of candidates, some after being denied party tickets and there is no guarantee that they will stick to their parties after the elections. No state is spared of this party-hopping culture and almost all parties are victims at one point or another. But if this trend continues, more political parties may jump on the loyalty pledge bandwagon, though it is to be seen if it will have a positive outcome.
Interestingly, political parties not only welcome turncoats into its fold but also prefer them over their loyal members while issuing party tickets. The electorates also indirectly give room for party-hopping culture to flourish by electing the turncoats. However, the outcome of last year’s West Bengal assembly election indicated that recruiting party hoppers and disgruntled candidates from other parties could be counter-productive. Though the BJP witnessed a significant growth in West Bengal, it failed to live up to expectations, and the flocking back of former Trinamool Congress members, who it accepted before the polls, to the original party added salt to the wounds. It won’t come as a surprise if a similar scenario is seen in the upcoming assembly elections, especially in Uttar Pradesh which saw maximum switching of sides. Even if the strategy of fielding defectors works, it’s likely to harm in the long run as it comes at the cost of upsetting genuine party workers. Moreover, one’s party affiliation is determined by principles and ideologies. So, there is no guarantee that they won’t return to their original party. Some politicians will continue to take the risk of switching parties and political parties, especially those in power, will be tempted to take popular legislators from other parties but any strategy that has the potential to shake the support base can bring more harm in the long run. What comes around goes around in politics too.