A Portrait of Defection Politics

From the point of view of idealistic or pure politics, political acts like defection and floor-crossing may not enjoy much moral credibility or even institutional integrity. When defection or floor-crossing becomes a regular practice, politics tends to lose its moral essence, although such a practice may find its support in the institutional procedures. Those who are holding idealistic point of view would not lend themselves to endorse the politics of defection. The recent political developments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka that suggest continuation of the politics of capturing and usurping formal institutional power by means of engineering party defection, show nothing but the ailing side of democratic politics.

It is often claimed that the decision to defect is driven by the urgency to defend one’s political autonomy and stand by the principles of democracy and justice. Thus, in defection, such defectors may choose to find a “noble” cause. From the defector’s point of view, defection may be treated as a moral protest that is aimed at restoring democracy, both within the party in question and in promoting democratic spirit in the polity. Such defectors, in their feat of self-righteousness, may also locate the value of justice in the act of crossing over to other parties. Put differently, such moves of defection are seen as desirable as though they were driven by larger concerns for justice; justice that anticipates the party bosses to treat their leaders with fairness and dignity.