Ruchi Gupta writes: The crisis in Maharashtra shows the anti-defection law to be ineffective, even counterproductive

News: The political crisis in Maharashtra has brought focus back on the anti-defection law. The law has failed to provide the stability of elected governments.

What is anti-defection law?

What are the challenges associated with the anti-defection law?

Repeated ceding of political power to the judiciary: Political parties are repeatedly giving primacy to legal instead of political battles since these issues inevitably end up in court. This repeated ceding of political power to the judiciary is a serious deviation from the democratic paradigm and must be checked.

Polarization: The anti-defection law has undermined not just the very principle of representation but has also contributed to polarization in the country. This is by making it impossible to construct a majority on any issue outside of party affiliation.

Many governments have fallen due to defections in recent times. Further, defectors have not suffered any cautionary consequences.

What should be done to prevent defection?

Firstly, The way forward is to amend the anti-defection law. By mandating time-bound decisions by the Speaker and disqualifying defectors from standing for the next election as well.

But there are certain challenges with the amendment as well. For instance, a disqualified representative may simply choose to have a family member stand in their stead.

Secondly, political parties must address organizational and ideological infirmities. This will address the mass defections in the first place. Political organizations’ vulnerability to mass defections calls for urgent introspective and corrective measures at the level of the leadership.

Political parties need ideological clarity and the ability to attract individuals with a sense of purpose and not a love for power alone. This will give members the ability to withstand lean periods of power.

Thirdly, Scrapping the anti-defection law: This would provide some institutional leverage to express intra-party dissidence. Though it may be more chaotic in the short term would lead to greater stability and political strength in the long term.

Source: The post is based on the article “Ruchi Gupta writes: The crisis in Maharashtra shows the anti-defection law to be ineffective, even counterproductive” published in “Indian Express” on 27^th June 2022.