Politics of defection : a study of state politics in India

Developments in State Politics have not unt fortunately received the attention they deserve at the hands of the social scientists and political thinkers. This study attempts to understand and critically analyse the socio-economic background and the post-fourth general election political scene in the country, particularly in the seven States of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which have been in the spotlight in the context of frequent changes of party affiliations by legislators in large numbers, affecting the fate of governments and patterns of politics. The phenomenon of political defections in India has several psycho logical and socionomic dimensions and is closely related to the dynamics of human relations and leadership processes. Here the phenomenon is examined objectively, as a psycho-sociological reality and in terms of simple political legitimacy and constitutional legality and in the context of some of the more identifiable legal, political and psychological variables.