Ahmedabad: The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Thursday released a report identifying MPs and MLAs across India who changed political parties after winning elections. Covering the period from 2022 to 2026, the report lists four such cases from Gujarat, all involving MLAs.According to the report, 111 elected representatives switched parties after their election victories, including 26 Lok Sabha MPs, seven Rajya Sabha MPs and 78 legislators from state and Union territory assemblies.Nagaland recorded the highest number of post-election party switches with 32 legislators, followed by West Bengal with 20, Telangana with nine, and Goa and Punjab with eight each.The four Gujarat MLAs named in the report are C J Chavda (Vijapur), Arjun Modhwadia (Porbandar), Arvind Ladani (Manavadar) and Chirag Patel (Khambhat). In all four cases, the legislators moved from the Congress to the BJP. While Patel switched parties in 2023, Chavda, Modhwadia and Ladani joined the BJP in 2024.ADR has recommended a series of reforms to address political defections. These include amendments to the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, legislation to bar turncoat legislators from holding public office, and bringing political parties under the ambit of public authorities to enhance transparency and accountability.
