The highest number of MLAs who switched parties in the recent Assembly elections left the Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Tuesday.
The ADR report said that the highest number of MLAs who changed parties were from the Congress (20 or 39.22%) of the total. Fifteen All-India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MLAs or 29.41% of the total MLAs who switched parties left the party to contest elections.
“In the recent Assembly elections 2021, 20 (39.22%) out of 60 re-contesting MLAs who switched political parties joined the BJP followed by 17 (33.33%) MLAs who joined AITC and 7 (13.73%) MLAs who joined Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam,” it said.
Out of the 51 re-contesting MLAs, 69% had declared assets over ₹1 crore in their election affidavits.
Out of the 60 re-contesting candidates in the five Assembly elections, the maximum number (8 or 13.33%) left the Congress, while five each left the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the All India United Democratic Front and the BJP to contest from another party. Of the total re-contesting candidates, the most (15) joined the BJP, followed by eight who joined the AITC and five who joined the Congress.