Did the luck also change with the party? How many turncoat MPs won the elections in 2019 and 2024, how many lost

The tradition of changing one’s loyalty and party just before elections is quite old in Indian politics. The leaders feel that changing the flag with the direction of the wind will ensure their victory. But, if we look at the results of the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the data of ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’ (ADR), then this assumption proves to be completely wrong. The truth is that merely changing the party symbol does not change the mood of the public. Let us understand what was the political fate of the MPs who switched parties in the last two Lok Sabha elections…

2019 elections: Strike rate of turncoat Lok Sabha MPs 0%

Even during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, a huge game of party-change was seen. The ADR report shows that between 2016 and 2020, 12 sitting Lok Sabha MPs left their party and contested re-election on the ticket of a new party.

• Of these 12 MPs, 5 (41.7%) had left the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined another party during the 2019 elections. At the same time, almost the same number of MPs had joined Congress.
• The surprising thing was that the public completely rejected this opportunity. Out of all the 12 Lok Sabha MPs who contested the elections in and around 2019, not a single one could win the election.

2024 elections: 62% outside candidates lost

BJP, which won 303 seats in 2019, was reduced to 240 seats in 2024. A major reason behind this is believed to be excessive trust in turncoats. In the 2024 elections, BJP had given tickets to a large number of leaders from other parties for its expansion.

• According to an analysis by The Print, out of 441 BJP candidates in 2024, there were 110 candidates who had come from other parties in the Modi era (after 2014). Out of these 110 turncoat candidates, 62% (69 leaders) lost the election.
• The fate of those who changed sides just before the elections was even worse. 34 outside leaders who joined BJP in 2023 and 2024 had got tickets, out of which 27 lost.

Where did these leaders come from?

Among these 110 outside leaders who got BJP ticket, maximum 38 came from Congress. Apart from this, 11 leaders from BSP, 9 from BRS, 7 from TMC, 6 from BJD and 4 each from NCP and SP were included. 20 out of 38 leaders from Congress alone lost the elections.

What happened to veteran MPs? (Track record from 2019 to 2024)

• Veteran turncoats who lost: Ravneet Singh Bittu (Ludhiana), Preneet Kaur (Patiala), Geeta Koda, Sushil Kumar Rinku (Jalandhar), Maneka Gandhi (joined BJP in 2004, lost the 10th election), Hans Raj Hans, Arjun Singh, Sunil Mandal and Margani Ram.
• Veteran turncoats who won: Jyotiraditya Scindia (left Congress in 2020 and joined BJP and won in 2024), Ravi Kishan, Jitin Prasad, Naveen Jindal, Ritesh Pandey, Afzal Ansari, Rahul Kaswan, Devarayalu and Vallabhaneni.

100% pass in Rajya Sabha

While in the Lok Sabha elections, the turncoat leaders were badly rejected by the public, the story in the Rajya Sabha was completely opposite. Between 2016 and 2020, 16 Rajya Sabha MPs switched sides (of which 7 left Congress and 10 went to BJP). In the case of Rajya Sabha, the success rate was 100%, that is, all 16 MPs were re-elected. The biggest reason for this is that people do not vote directly in Rajya Sabha, rather elections are won through political manipulation.

Win or lose, bank balance keeps increasing

Even though many leaders who switched sides lost the Lok Sabha elections, it did not have any negative impact on their wealth. According to ADR data, there has been an average increase of 39% (i.e. about Rs 5.85 crore) in the assets of MPs who switched parties and contested elections again.

ADR’s strong message and suggestions

ADR clearly says that unless the politics of this facility is controlled, parliamentary democracy will continue to be a mockery. The organization has suggested that the power to take action against MPs under the anti-defection law and to disqualify them should be taken away from the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and given to the President, so that the decisions can be impartial.

Also read: To get rid of stigma, Champat will not leave Ayodhya for 4 months.