LS polls: 28% of BJP candidates so far are defectors, mostly from Congress

Out of the total of 417 candidates announced so far, 116 are turncoats, claims report while saying majority defections happened after PM Modi came to power

In the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) nine lists of candidates released so far, one in four candidates of the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls is a defector, a media report has claimed. Most of these defectors, the report revealed, have shifted their loyalty from the Congress.

Out of the total of 417 candidates listed so far, 116, or 28 per cent, have joined the BJP from other political parties. The majority of these defections occurred after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over the reins in 2014.

The report highlighted that the largest number of defectors, at least 37, came from the Congress, followed by nine from Bharat Rashtra Samiti, eight from Bahujan Samajwadi Party, seven from Trinamool Congress, and six from Biju Janata Dal. Additionally, there are 6 defectors each from NCP, SP, and AIADMK.

The BJP's strategy of embracing defectors is primarily motivated by its ambition to expand its influence in states where it has traditionally lacked a strong presence, the report claimed. 

Notable figures from the Congress who have switched sides include Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasada, both of whom were once considered close to the party's leadership. Scindia is slated to contest from his traditional stronghold of Guna, while Prasada has replaced Varun Gandhi in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh.

Why are so many leaders defecting to BJP?

A recent investigative report by Indian Express media had revealed that as many as 23 prominent opposition politicians who crossed over to the BJP have got reprieve from federal agencies investigating corruption cases against them.

The report cited the examples of prominent opposition leaders saying how the legal proceedings against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan are at a standstill. Sarma faced CBI questioning and raids in 2014 regarding the Saradha chit fund scam, yet the case against him has stagnated since 2015, coinciding with his joining of the BJP.

Further, in the case of money laundering linked to alleged irregularities in Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank, accused Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) closed the file in March this year after he joined the NDA.

Then there are cases that are still open but put in the 'cold storage', i.e. without any progress in investigation. Since 2019, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is awaiting sanctions from the Lok Sabha Speaker to prosecute West Bengal's Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, who was a Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP when the Narada sting operation scandal broke out. Adhikari joined the BJP in 2020.

Is BJP's tacting of accepting turncoats backfiring?

However, this tactic is now facing opposition from within the party, with long-time loyalists expressing dissent over such inductions. The report claimed that in Sabarkantha, Gujarat, BJP leaders are protesting against the decision to replace the incumbent MP Bhikhaji Thakor with Shobhna Baraiya, the wife of former Congress MLA Mahendrasinh Baraiya, who joined the BJP in 2022. 

Similarly in March, discontent brewed among BJP workers in Karnataka regarding the allocation of a ticket from the Belgaum (Belagavi) constituency. Amid speculations that former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who rejoined the BJP in January after leaving the Congress, might be nominated to contest from Belagavi. Currently, the constituency is represented by Mangala Angadi, the widow of the former Union Minister of State Suresh Angadi.

In response to these speculations, BJP cadres in Belagavi initiated a 'Go Back Jagadish' campaign against the former Chief Minister. They demanded that party tickets be granted to internal members rather than to an 'outsider' who had recently switched allegiances to the party.