Misuse of Anti-Defection Law – The hollowing out of the anti-defection law

Source: The post misuse of Anti-Defection Law has been created on the article “The hollowing out of the anti-defection law” published in “The Hindu” on 19th December 2023.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS paper 2- Polity- Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

News: The article discusses how India’s anti-defection law, designed to prevent lawmakers from frequently changing parties, is being misused. Politicians are exploiting loopholes to switch parties without consequences, leading to unstable governments and undermining the law’s original purpose.

What is the Anti-Defection Law?

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What are the issues with Anti-Defection Law?

Splits and Mergers: The Anti-Defection Law allows legislators to avoid disqualification by forming new factions with a two-thirds majority, leading to frequent party switches. For example, In Uttar Pradesh and Haryana (1990-2008), legislators exploited this law by defecting, forming new groups, and then merging with other parties, demonstrating how the law can be manipulated to facilitate opportunistic politics.

Formation of Government without Party Switch or Merger: In Maharashtra, factions within the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party managed to form a government without officially switching parties or merging. They claimed to be the original party and allied with the BJP, highlighting a significant loophole.

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What are the consequences of this misuse?

Government Instability: The misuse of the Anti-Defection Law has led to frequent government collapses in states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Karnataka, and Arunachal Pradesh, disrupting political stability.

Erosion of Democratic Values: By exploiting the law, politicians undermine the spirit of democracy. The law’s intention to maintain political integrity is negated, as seen in the strategic alignments in Maharashtra with the Shiv Sena and NCP factions.

Encouraging Opportunistic Politics: The trend in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana (1990-2008) of legislators defecting and then merging with other parties illustrates how the law encourages opportunistic politics rather than principled decision-making.

What should be done?

Strengthening Law’s Intent: Reinforcing the law to ensure it aligns with its initial intent of upholding political integrity and stability is essential. This requires identifying and sealing the loopholes that enable opportunistic politics, as observed in previous cases in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Maharashtra.

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Question for practice:

Discuss the key issues associated with the India’s Anti-Defection Law.