Party-hopping a threat to democracy, say experts

GUWAHATI: The last couple of months have seen a lot of switches and swaps in the political arena.
A number of candidates have decided to change sides, with failure to get a ticket being the biggest cause of resentment.
However, this change in sides is being termed by observers and analysts as a "danger to democracy".
Several prominent leaders, including former MPs and party presidents, have shifted their camps just to get a ticket, often from their preferred seat.Two-time Congress MP from Mangaldai Madhab Rajbongshi has openly said he joined Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) after his former party denied him a ticket. Former AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary joined BJP to get a ticket from Barpeta constituency. The list goes on.
Noted author and educationist Dinesh Baishya termed this bunch of politicians as "professional politicians", who have hijacked the common voters for their own interests.
"They are professional politicians, who just think of their individual gains and nothing else. The voters or the common people hardly matter for them, as they have a set of brokers, who will manage votes for them in return of money. So, we cannot imagine how dangerous this is for Indian democracy," Baishya told TOI.
Baishya also advocated for a mass revolution to overcome this trend, so that democracy can be safeguarded from these "tyrants".
Madhab Rajbongshi, who joined the Janata Party in 1977 and became the youngest legislator of the country from Sipajhar LAC, had said he decided to join AGP as Congress did not give him a ticket from Mangaldoi. In 1994, he joined Congress and became MP in 1998 and 1999. But he lost on consecutive occasions after that.
Former Janata Dal MLA and senior citizen Ajay Dutta said these leaders are opportunists and a burden to any party of democratic system.
"They are the real opportunists, who are unreliable and are a burden for any political party in the democratic system. They can hardly do well to society and people. People like Rajbongshi and Chandra Mohan Patowary have killed their ideologies for their individual interests," Dutta said.
Parvez Ahmed, son of former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, also left Congress and joined Trinamool Congress to contest from Barpeta constituency. Former BJP state secretary Mridula Borkotoky also joined AGP only to get a ticket from Nagaon. Three-time Congress MP from Tezpur Mani Kumar Subba also filed his nomination as an Independent candidate after his party decided against giving him a ticket. AIUDF's BK Nath also left the party at the last moment to earn an AGP ticket from Silchar.
Senior advocate and state president of Samajwadi Party, Hafiz Ahmed Rashid Choudhury termed the such MLAs and MPs as hopeless. "The leaders, who are just committed to themselves, cannot do anything for the people. Their existence in the democratic system is no use," he said.
The youngsters too have fed up with the trend as they slammed these politicians as a threat to democracy. "This is a serious threat to democracy for various reasons. These representatives should rather concentrate in the development of their people and work accordingly," said Nanda Kirti Dewan, a leader of All Assam Gorkha Students Union (AAGSU).