The defection of Raghav Chadha, along with six of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs to the BJP yesterday, is just another episode in India’s long- running history of political defection.
It is a reminder that ideology in Indian politics is not a guiding principle. It’s also a reminder that Indian politicians have no sense of shame either.
Raghav Chadha, speaking of why he left AAP, said he was “the right man but in the wrong party.” So, is the BJP the right party? If so, then is Raghav Chadha an illiterate goon?
One may recall how Chadha once called the BJP a party of “illiterates and goons.”
Then he added saying AAP was corrupt and that “he didn’t want to be part of their crimes.” Ironic considering that in the party he has jumped to, of the 240 BJP MPs, 94 of them have criminal cases! Guess it’s ok to be part of BJP’s crime, not AAP’s?
What’s changed?
Has the BJP undergone a miraculous transformation? No, the politician changed.
In our democracy, our leaders switch convictions with such alarming ease and speed that even a chameleon would be in awe.
But of course, Indian politics has no sense of ideology and no sense of shame; this is an age-old problem.
In fact, there is a phrase for politicians defecting, which was coined in 1967. The phrase is “Aya Ram Gaya Ram.”
This phrase was coined by Haryana Congress MLA Rao Birendra Singh when, in 1967, his colleague MLA Gaya Lal switched parties three times in just two weeks!
Over the years, India has had thousands of defections, usually for self-interest. In fact, in 1967, when the menace of defection began, within 4 years, by 1971, there were 142 defections in Parliament and 1,969 defections in State Assemblies!
In this chaos, 32 Governments collapsed and 212 defectors were rewarded with ministerial positions.
Between 2016 and 2020 alone, over 400 MPs and MLAs in India switched political parties and recontested elections, with the Congress party losing 42% of its legislators and the BJP gaining 45%.
The trend continues and some have specialised in it.
Take Sharad Pawar, a master of political recalibration, who has aligned with parties he once opposed.
Then we have Nitish Kumar, whose political journey to the CM’s chair is a series of frequent exits and re-entries between alliances. In Karnataka, we have JD(S).
But worse are the ones who switch sides and their narratives. Politicians who once thundered against ‘corruption’ embrace those they accused.
Leaders who warned of “threats to democracy” later share a stage with the very forces they warned against. It is not merely a betrayal of the party; it is a betrayal of their voters trust.
Many expected a man like Raghav Chadha to be different from the so-called ‘opportunistic’ politicians. When a politician like Raghav Chadha, educated, articulate and widely perceived as part of a new generation of leaders, indulges in such blatant contradiction, it sends a disheartening message.
A message that education does not guarantee integrity. That articulation does not ensure conviction and that politics, ultimately, is not about what you believe but where you benefit.
In that sense, Raghav Chadha may be highly literate, but his defection reveals a form of moral illiteracy.
Of course, his defenders will argue that politics is the “art of possibilities.” That alliances are necessary. That pragmatism must sometimes override ideology.
But there is a difference between pragmatism and opportunism. Pragmatism adjusts strategy while holding on to core principles. Opportunism abandons principles in pursuit of power. And what we are witnessing today is the latter.
When people like Raghav Chadha and Swati Maliwal reduce ideology to a tool rather than a compass and when parties become interchangeable you are no longer representatives of the people, you are representing your self-interest.
The AAP MPs could have resigned and given clear reasons why and helped clean up a party born out of an anti-corruption movement. Instead, they quietly, shamelessly joined a party they told their voters was filled with “illiterates and goons” and the BJP took them in, after being called so?!
Some say that ‘opportunistic’ Raghav Chadha and Swati Maliwal have discouraged educated youngsters from joining politics, who have viewed them as faces of modern Indian politics.
Sadly, these AAP MPs have proved that old adage, “all politicians are the same” as being true.
e-mail: vikram@starofmysore.com
This post was published on April 25, 2026 5:55 pm