Congress remains the prominent loser, with 19 leaving the party, though it managed to get nine BRS MLAs in Telangana into its fold.

At least 111 lawmakers -- 33 MPs and 78 MLAs -- in 17 states changed their party affiliations through mergers and defections after winning Parliament and Assembly elections since 2022 with Naga People Front (NPF), BJP and NCPI being the major beneficiaries accounting together for 73 per cent of the defections, according to a new report.

Except for 32 NDPP MLAs who merged with NPF, 79 lawmakers have defected to other parties with BJP becoming the biggest beneficiary with 29 joining them while Congress remaining the prominent loser, with 19 leaving the party, though it managed to get nine BRS MLAs in Telangana into its fold.

According to the analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) based on the elections and the bypolls held between 2022 and 2026, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress and Congress together accounted for 64 (58 per cent) of the 111 MPs and MLAs who changed parties during these four years.

If one takes states into account, Nagaland recorded the highest number of party switches with 32 (29 per cent) followed by West Bengal with 20 (18 per cent).

The highest number of party switches was recorded among representatives originally elected from NDPP (25 or 23 per cent) followed by Trinamool Congress whose 20 MPs defected to little-known NCPI recently. 

AAP's seven Rajya Sabha MPs and NCP's seven MLAs as well as Shiv Sena (UBT)'s six MPs also defected to Shiv Sena during this time. JD(U) lost five MLAs while NPP lost four. "It is noteworthy that the recent fall of governments in some State Assemblies was attributed to defections by their MLAs," the ADR report said.

NPF, BJP and NCPI together accounted for 81 (73 per cent) of the 111 MPs and MLAs who joined other political parties.

The report said the principles of democracy rely upon ‘government of the people, by the people and for the people’ where ‘interest of citizens’ is of paramount importance in comparison to ‘private interest of our politicians’. 

"This fundamental principle, however, has been skewed by the failing standards of ethical and moral propriety in India’s parliamentary democracy. The ‘Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram’ syndrome and the never- ending ‘hunger for power and money’ have become a common practice amongst our Legislators and Political parties," it said.  

The most plausible reasons behind such defections and switching of parties are "absence of value-based politics, lust for money and power, strong nexus between money and muscle, lure of office, dearth of efficient, honest and credible leaders, silent/absent laws on political parties functioning, concerns regarding the decision of the Speaker/Chairperson as the adjudicating authority under the Tenth Schedule, since the speaker or chairperson are usually from the ruling party, (and) prolonged judicial proceedings in disqualification matters, which has weakened the deterrent effect of the Tenth Schedule", it said.

"The recent developments in West Bengal further highlight the deepening crisis of political ethics and party discipline...Such large-scale post-election realignments -- whether through individual switches or mass mergers - once again demonstrate how the mandate given by voters is frequently undermined by the politics of convenience, power and opportunism," it added.