111 MPs, MLAs switched parties after election, Nagaland tops list: ADR report
Making an apparent mockery of the anti-defection law, 111 sitting MPs/MLAs changed parties after being elected to the current Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and State Assemblies. Among them, 26 were Lok Sabha MPs, seven were Rajya Sabha MPs, and 78 were MLAs.
The report of Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report said defection cases were reported in 17 states and union territories. Nagaland topped the list, with 32 representatives switching parties. This was followed by West Bengal with 20, Telangana with nine, Goa and Punjab with eight each, Maharashtra and Meghalaya with six each, and Manipur with five.
Interestingly, Nagaland and West Bengal alone accounted for approximately 47 percent of the total defection cases. This huge political exodus between 2022 and 2026 has changed the picture of power and opposition in many states, including Nagaland, West Bengal, Telangana, Goa, Maharashtra and Manipur.
The report shows the NDPP suffered the most losses. 25 elected representatives of this party left the party, which is 23 percent of the total defections. This was followed by 20 leaders of AITC and 19 of INC. Apart from this, 9 representatives of BRS, 7 each from AAP and NCP, 6 from Shiv Sena (UBT), 5 from JD(U) and 4 from NPP also changed their parties. The most shocking thing is that the number of leaders coming from NDPP, AITC and Congress was 64, which is 58 percent of the total defection cases.
The NPF was the primary choice for party-changers, with 32 leaders joining the party. This was followed by the BJP with 29 and the Nationalist Citizens Party of India with 20. The Congress received nine, the Shiv Sena eight, the NPP six, and the PPA four. The report indicates that the NPF, BJP, and Nationalist Citizens Party of India together attracted 81 out of 111 leaders. This represents 73 percent of the total defections.
In its report, ADR stated that in recent years, defection by MLAs has been a significant factor in the collapse of governments or political changes in some states. Nagaland saw the highest number of defections, with 32 representatives changing sides, creating a new balance of political forces there. In West Bengal, the departure of 20 MPs from the AITC altered the direction of opposition politics. In Telangana, nine BRS MLAs joined the Congress, weakening the party’s strength in the Assembly and strengthening its position. In Goa, eight Congress MLAs joined the BJP. In Manipur, five JD(U) MLAs joined the BJP, while in Maharashtra, six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs joined the Shinde faction’s Shiv Sena. The report concludes that in many states, defection altered the political landscape created by voters at the time of the election.
