Principle-less Fragmentation in Political Parties

June 19, 2026

In this changing world, the meaning of politics is evolving. It seems that politics is no longer about public service but self-interest; the welfare of the family has taken precedence over the welfare of the public. Politicians take oaths pledging a lifetime of commitment and dedication to public service. However, the principles of commitment, dedication, and cooperation have become outdated or meaningless. They have been supplanted by the strategies of “Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed” (persuasion, bribery, punishment, and division). The moment they perceive even the slightest threat to their personal interests, elected representatives in Parliament or state assemblies do not hesitate to abandon their parent parties and defect. Laws exist to curb political defections, stipulating that if fewer than two-thirds of MPs or MLAs switch sides, they forfeit their seats and membership.

Yet, such is the erosion of commitment that these representatives devise schemes to rally more than two-thirds of their party members to defect en masse in order to safeguard their own interests. Recently, seven Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs, led by Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, defected to the BJP. What has unfolded in West Bengal since then is unimaginable. Following Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) defeat by the BJP in the West Bengal assembly elections, long-standing, committed MLAs and MPs did not hesitate for a moment to leave the party and switch sides.

The defection of more than two-thirds of elected representatives posed an existential threat to the Trinamool Congress, raising the question of which faction constitutes the “real” Trinamool and who is entitled to the party symbol. A new development has now emerged in Maharashtra. Six out of nine MPs from Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) have expressed readiness to merge with the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and sent a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker regarding this on Wednesday. Prior to this, Eknath Shinde had challenged the very existence of the Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction); joining forces with rebel colleagues, he successfully claimed the identity of the “real” Shiv Sena and secured the party’s election symbol for his faction. Principle-less fragmentation within political parties is now taking place openly