KATHMANDU, APRIL 24
The recently concluded by-elections in the three constituencies of the country were marked by twin major political phenomena.
Firstly, it was about the political defection of the Nepali Congress (NC) intelligentsia Swarnim Wagley, who embarked on party switching to Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) from the NC. Similarly, Shiva Chandra Kushwaha launched an incredible party hopping to Janamat Party (JMP) from the Maoist Centre (MC).
Secondly, it was the two presidents of the national parties jumping into the election fray. One of them was Upendra Yadav, the president of Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) and the other was journalist turned politician Rabi Lamicchane, president of the RSP which shot to dizzying political fame in no time.
This political defection has been debated fiercely in the political circle regarding its moral and immoral aspect. Morality can be defined in multiple ways, but one simple definition is following the ageold established belief. The established belief in party affiliations is adherence to its principles and fight for the internal as well as external excesses by remaining loyal to the party. Unfortunately, people keep on changing parties like a chameleon changes its colour.
This kind of party floor crossing has, however, been occurring since time immemorial. But this can be seen as a fight against excessive immorality. Bivishan of the Ramayans fame joined Rama rebelling against Ravana because he was a bundle of immortality. It is immoral to hijack another's spouse, but Ravana did precisely that by kidnapping Sita. It was immoral, and hence Bibhishan changed the camp. He revealed several secrets to Rama crucial to ensure the victory of Rama over Ravana in the battle.
In the Mahabharata also, Yuyutsu did not fight for his brother Duryodhan because he felt that the Pandavas were right and the Kauravs were wrong. It is the duty of a human being to maintain decency in society, but Duryodhan was intent on stripping Draupadi naked in public. It was immoral and Yuyutsu fought for the Pandavas.
Political defection also took place in Britain, known as the mother of parliamentary democracy. For example, one of the great names in parliamentary democracy, William Gladstone was elected on a Conservative ticket, who started the defection culture in Britain. The other notable names of defectors are: Joseph Chamberlain and Winston Churchill.
Chamberlain, a fierce opponent of the Irish Home rule, engaged in horse trading along with 93 MPs from the Ministry of Gladstone. Churchill also defected from the Conservative to the Liberal party in 1904. Also the first Labour Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, defected and took the initiative to form a national government in 1931.
Nearer in India, the year 1967 is ordinarily considered as the point of departure of political defections. But this political shift started much earlier, in 1948. The Socialist Party said good bye to the Congress and ordered all its members to resign from their seats in the assemblies for re-election. In Uttar Pradesh, later in 1950, 23 MLAs defected from the Congress and formed the Jana Congress. This phenomenon of political defection reached an all-time high in the seventies in India when it became famous as the Aya Ram Gaya Ram phenomenon.
Political defections in Nepal took place much earlier with the flight of Matrika Prasad Koirala from the NC, but the one immediately after the 1959 coup by King Mahendra is more prominent when the nascent democracy was nipped in the bud. Several members of the Nepali Congress such as Tulsi Giri, Biswa Bandhu Thapa and later Parsu Narayan Chowdhury joined the so-called partyless Panchayat democracy. Recently, in 2020, stalwarts of the MC like Ram Prasad Badal, Lok Raj Bhatta and several others opted to defect to the UML.
The present defection is the continuity of this global political phenomenon. Shiva Chandra Kushwaha has virtually engaged inthe political flesh trade. He was in MC and lost the last House of Representative election. But now he has shifted to the JMP within a matter of just about four months. He certainly reminds one of Aya Ram Gaya Ram in India, portraying Hariyana's Legislature MemberGaya Lal who changed the party three times in a span of 15 days. He shifted from the Congress to the Janata Party, from the Janata Party to the Congress and again from the Congress to the Janata Party. It should come as no surprise if Kushwaha returns to the MC.
Kushwaha complained of discrimination within the party, which is hard to believe. He was given an opportunity to contest the election, which he lost.
The MC was supporting the coalition candidate Upendra Yadav without fielding its own candidate. Even if it had contested, the MC would have provided this opportunity to another member of the party.
According to Wagley, favouritism and nepotism rife in the NC triggered his resignation. NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba has been widely alleged to be henpecked, a notion Wagley has echoed. The NC has been stagnant under Deuba despite its glorious history. A glaring example is its inability to activate the different departments within the NC.
Despite this, personalities like Wagley should have waged reformative struggles from within the party instead of making a flight to another party. Unfortunately, he exited from NC to the disappointment of his well-wishers.
His steeply upward trajectory riding on the sympathy wave that he enjoyed after he was denied the ticket to contest the federal election has suddenly taken a nose-drive after this decision to join the RSP.
Defection as can be seen was taken as a last resort after immoral excesses touched the sky in the mythic past. But now it is being undertaken to fulfil selfish motives by the politicians.
The greatest judges are, however, the people who observe things closely. It will certainly be reflected in the people's mandate to be declared very soon.
According to Wagley, favouritism and nepotism rife in the NC triggered his resignation. NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba has been widely alleged to be henpecked
A version of this article appears in the print on April 25, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.