Cross-voting and defections in Indian politics | In Focus podcast

Engineered cross-voting to win extra seats in the Rajya Sabha and organized defection to bring down duly-elected State Governments appear to have been normalized in Indian politics.

The additional two seats that accrued to the BJP in Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh recently is a case in point. Though six cross-voting MLAs have been disqualified in Himachal Pradesh, the defeat of senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Sanghvi points to the dangers that lie ahead for the Congress government in the state.

Previously, the Congress lost three state governments in Goa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, to organized defections.

So, is this a phenomenon that we will have to live with in Indian politics?

Guest: Radhika Ramaseshan, political analyst and columnist.

Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu.

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

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