Loyalty takes a beating in polls

New Delhi: With a spate of defections during this election season, many wonder if there is any place left at all for loyalty for political ideologies.

“Recent defections both at the national and regional levels suggest that loyalty for political ideologies can easily become a casualty these days. The leaders are joining parties without caring for the ideological mismatch. It all looks so opportunity driven, shameless and thoughtless. But the common people are smart and understand everything. It is not easy to befool the voter these days,” says political commentator Ratnesh Shukla.

According to the Congress, the decision to rope in leaders from other parties is taken strategically to make the grand old party strong to compete in the long run.

“Those joining Congress have total faith in the development vision of party chief Rahul Gandhi. Even our leader Priyanka Gandhi has made it clear that Congress cadre will become very strong by 2022. So there is no harm in taking leaders from other parties who believe in us or who have the capability to strengthen the party,” Congress leader Zeeshan Haider told Gulf News.

The BJP also claims that it is working strategically by taking leaders from Congress and other parties into its fold. According to party insiders, the BJP hopes to demoralise the Congress cadre and send out a message of being the more reliable party.

Political analyst Ashutosh Singh calls defections the flavour of the current season.

“There is no cure for defections. The political leaders of India are more concerned about personal gains than political ideologies. They are with a party as long as it serves and suits their needs. The moment they feel that the party fails to serve their purpose or denies them the favours they deserve, they don’t even take a split second to switch over. Also there is no patience with our leaders. They find switching over more convenient than sulking or trying to rectify things,” Singh says.