Is “Aaya Ram Gaya Ram” politics becoming a bigger feature of Indian elections? The report prepared jointly by the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch claims that 111 sitting MPs and MLAs had switched parties post election victory between 2022 and 2026. This includes 26 members from Lok Sabha, seven Rajya Sabha MPs, and 78 MLAs. It is said that these figures account for 2% of the total 4,876 MPs and MLAs in the country. According to ADR, these cases represent about 2% of the country's 4,876 MPs and MLAs. The report is based mainly on election affidavits and information published by the Election Commission, Parliament and state assemblies. ADR also cautions that the list may not cover every possible case because official data is not systematically maintained.
Which States Saw the Most Party Switching?
Which states saw the biggest movement? Nagaland recorded 32 party switches, the highest number in the ADR analysis, followed by West Bengal with 20. Telangana recorded nine while Goa and Punjab each recorded eight. All 20 cases counted in West Bengal involved Lok Sabha MPs. The figure is linked to a major political development in June 2026 when 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs announced their merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India or NCPI and sought recognition as a separate group in the Lok Sabha. Contemporary reports confirmed that the 20 MPs had moved away from the Trinamool Congress and aligned with NCPI.
Which Parties Lost and Gained Elected Representatives?
Which parties lost the most elected representatives and which parties gained them? ADR says NDPP lost 25 representatives, followed by AITC or Trinamool Congress with 20 and Congress with 19. BRS had nine departures while AAP and NCP each recorded seven. On the receiving side, NPF attracted 32 representatives, BJP attracted 29 and NCPI received 20. ADR says these three parties together accounted for 73% of all representatives who joined another political party during the period covered. The report therefore shows that party switching was not simply a series of isolated individual moves. In several cases it involved larger political realignments and organised movement between parties.
ADR's Four Categories of Party Switching
Were all 111 cases actual defections? ADR says no. The organisation divided the cases into four categories: individual party switching without resigning from the House, formal party mergers, resigning from the House and winning a by-election after joining another party, and joining another party after disqualification under the anti-defection law before winning a by-election. ADR pointed to examples from Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh involving resignations or disqualifications followed by by-elections. In Nagaland, a large number of legislators moved together in the context of the NPP-NPF merger. The classification matters because the legal and political circumstances behind each case were different rather than identical.
What Factors May Be Driving Party Switching?
Why are so many elected representatives changing political parties? ADR raised several possible structural factors including the attraction of political office, money and power, weak internal party structures and questions about the effectiveness of the anti-defection law. The report also highlighted the role of Speakers and Chairpersons in deciding defection complaints and the time such proceedings can take. Political leaders have offered their own interpretations. Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya and CPM leader Ramchandra Dome criticised party switching as harmful to democratic functioning and called for greater voter awareness. Those are political assessments rather than findings established by the ADR data itself. The report's factual takeaway is simpler: 111 sitting MPs and MLAs changed parties after winning elections between 2022 and 2026.
