Morung Express News
Dimapur | September 25
Nagaland has recorded the highest number of party defections in the country, with 32 sitting MPs and MLAs switching political parties after being elected, according to a new analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch.
According to the report, as many as 111 sitting MPs and MLAs across the country changed political parties after being elected to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and State Assemblies between 2022 and 2026, with Nagaland alone accounting for nearly a third of all such cases.
The analysis, based on elections and bye-elections held during the period and current as on July 12, 2026, found that of the 111 cases, 26 were Lok Sabha MPs, seven were Rajya Sabha MPs and 78 were MLAs who switched allegiance after being elected.
Party switches were recorded in 17 states and Union Territories, with Nagaland topping the list at 32 cases (29%) of the total, followed by West Bengal with 20 cases (18%).
The ADR classified switches into four categories: individual defection, where a legislator voluntarily left one party for another without resigning from the House; party merger, where a party or a substantial section of its legislative wing formally merged with another, as in the NDPP-NPF case in Nagaland; resignation followed by a bye-election, where the legislator resigned, joined a new party, and won the subsequent bye-election; and disqualification followed by a bye-election, where the member was disqualified under the Tenth Schedule, later joined another party, and regained the seat through a bye-election.
Party-wise break-up
Nagaland’s high numbers were driven largely by a party merger, the report noted, citing the coming together of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the Naga People’s Front (NPF) as an example of this category.
According to the party-wise break-up of MPs and MLAs who left their original parties, the highest number of party switches was recorded among representatives originally elected from NDPP (25, 23%), followed by AITC (20, 18%) and INC (19, 17%). BRS accounted for 9 (8%) party switches, while AAP and NCP each accounted for 7 (6%). Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) accounted for 6 (5%), followed by JD(U) with 5 (5%) and NPP with 4 (4%).
Together, NDPP, AITC and INC accounted for 64 (58%) of all 111 defections, the report said.
Party-wise share
On the receiving end, the NPF gained the highest number of legislators at 32 (29%), matching Nagaland’s overall tally followed by BJP with 29 (26%) and NCPI with 20 (18%). The INC received nine legislators, Shiv Sena eight, while the NPP and PPA gained six and four, respectively.
Overall, NPF, BJP and NCPI together accounted for 81 (73%) of the 111 MPs/MLAs who joined other political parties, the report added.
The ADR noted that “the recent fall of governments in some State Assemblies was attributed to defections by their MLAs.”
The watchdog cautioned that owing to the lack of systematically maintained and readily accessible official data, it is not possible to ensure that the list is exhaustive. “Accordingly, there may be other relevant cases that are not covered in this report,” it said.
The report is a follow-up to ADR's earlier analysis of “MPs/MLAs who changed parties” between 2014 and 2021, released on September 9, 2021.
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