The Self and the Collective in the Politics of Defection

The politics of defection that has recently occurred in the political affairs of the state of Maharashtra does form a link in the long chain of political defections that, for many years now, has been posing a challenge to the constitutional amendments that have been passed from time to time in order to curb the problem of defection. This link in the chain of defection, however, is seldom coterminous with the link bet­ween self-interest and collective interests. The latter is defined in the current crisis in Maharashtra in broader terms such as protecting the “real Hindutva” from the “unreal” one. However, the focus on the muddled link between the self- and the collective interest gets missed out while making sense of the politics of defection.

As it has been the usual case, the act of defection is constitutive of the element of guesswork and anxiety coupled with uncertainty generated by the voyage of the defected members to exciting destinations and majestic tourist resorts. The tension is quite performative as it entertains some while causing pain to others.