: Opinion: The evil of political defections #IndiaNEWS #News By Nayakara Veeresha The political fallout of the Maharashtra Vikas Agadhi (MVA) regime in Maharashtra has reignited the debate on defections

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Opinion: The evil of political defections #IndiaNEWS #News
By Nayakara Veeresha
The political fallout of the Maharashtra Vikas Agadhi (MVA) regime in Maharashtra has reignited the debate on defections and their role in democracy. Political defections and the subsequent government’s downfall in Maharashtra are nothing but a betrayal of the people’s mandate and democracy. It seems political parties are least bothered about respecting the voter’s decision in the gamble of power politics. By resorting to this greedy politics, they are doing irreparable damage to the foundations of democracy.
The political ambitions of individuals like Eknath Shinde and other dissenting MLAs highlight not only greedy power politics but also the fragility of Indian democracy. The internal rift within the Shiv Sena and its power dynamics led to this situation in addition to ideological dissonance. The democratic decline in Maharashtra has once again resurrected the limitations of anti-defection laws in the country, especially the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
Old Phenomenon
This is one side story of the coin; the other side and also one of the important missing links in the ongoing discourse is the fragility of democracy, especially at the State level politics. Set against this backdrop, it is essential to understand the political crisis of Maharashtra from a democratic perspective. The politics of defection in India purely to climb up the ladder of power positions is not a new phenomenon as seen more specifically between 1967 and 1969 and in contemporary times.
Political defections are antithetical to the principles of democratic governance. They betray the electoral mandate of the voters; corrode the fundamental tenets of the party system; destabilise the elected governments; and reduce the value of politics from a transformative tool for social change to serving individual interests, a political business cycle. The last two aspects can be seen more frequently in Indian politics, especially in the post-coalition phase.
The fifty-second Amendment Act of 1985 added the Tenth Schedule under Articles 102(2) and 191(2) of the Constitution, also popularly known as Anti-Defection Law, to contain the political defections in the country. The main objective of this law is “to curb the evil of political defections motivated by the lure of office or other similar considerations that endanger the foundations of our democracy�.
Limitations of the Law
More than three-and-a-half decadal experience shows that the implementation of the law has certain inherent limitations due to which political defections are happening continuously and are on the rise. Various committees have recommended amendments to the Tenth Schedule and strengthening of the same.

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