Anti-defection law (India)

Common card · No. 346840

The Anti-Defection law, or the 52nd Amendment to the Indian Constitution is a constitutional amendment limiting the ability of politicians to switch parties in parliament. The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties. Before the introduction of the anti-defection law, the election of both the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers of some of its states and territories had experienced instances of perceived uncertainty resulting from legislators changing their political allegiance. It may be noted that the 'political party' was not a recognised word in the Constitution of India at that time. By one estimate, almost 50 percent of the 4,000 legislators elected to union and federal parliaments in the 1967 and 1971 general elections subsequently defected, leading to political turmoil in the country. The law sought to limit such defections in India. In 1985, 52nd Amendment to the Constitution of India was passed by the Parliament of India to achieve this, which...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Government of India, Public domain