Assembly elections are going on in Haryana and the leader’s ‘Aya Ram, Gaya Ram’ story is being discussed. The one getting the most attention lately is singer Kanhaiya Mittal. He first made it clear that he wanted to join the Congress, then suddenly changed his mind a few hours later and clarified, “In the last two days, I have realized that all my Sanatani brothers and sisters and the top leadership of the BJP are very love me. Both videos of Kanhaiya became trending videos on social media. However, defections are nothing new in Haryana. The term “Aaya Ram Gaya Ram” was first coined in Haryana politics 57 years ago. The political history here is that leaders change parties like clothes.
In the 1970s, the political stability of Haryana not only forced the central government to enact a law related to defections, but also disrupted an election in the country. After this, the political situation in the country became such that elections to the Assembly and Lok Sabha started to be held separately. However, in many states, even today, assembly elections are held along with the Lok Sabha.
First know the whole story of “Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram”…
The story of Ram entering and leaving politics is relevant to Haryana. After its separation from Punjab on November 1, 1966, Haryana became a state and held its first assembly elections in 1967. Congress won 48 out of 81 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party won 12 seats, the Swatantra Party won 3 seats and the Republican Party of India won 2 seats. The Independence Party won 16 seats. One of them is Gaya Lal. He won from Hasanpur (reserved seat) in Palwal district by 360 votes. He defeated Congress candidate Manmohan Singh. The seat of Hasanpur has now been adjusted to Hodar.
Jaya Lal first supports Congress party
For the first time, a Congress government was formed in the state. On March 10, 1967, Bhagwati Dayal Sharma was sworn in as Chief Minister. Jaya Lal supports Congress. However, this government did not last long and within a week, disgruntled South Haryana leader Rao Birendra Singh mutinied along with 37 MPs. On March 24, 1967, he formed a new government with the support of Swatantra Party, Awami League and independent parliamentarians. The new front was named – the United Legislative Party (SVD).
When Jaya Lal changes sides for third time in nine hours
Independent Jaya Lal also hopes to be part of the new government. Amid the chaos, he took a fateful decision to leave the Congress and join Birendra Singh’s United Front. Jayalal’s defection did not stop. He changed his position three times in nine hours. Coming to SVD from Congress. Then he returned to Congress, suddenly changed his mind and joined the SVD again.
When Gaya Lal came to SVD for the second time, CM Rao Birendra Singh held a press conference in Chandigarh to introduce Gaya Lal to everyone. The CM declared, “Gaya Ram, ab aaya Ram hain.” Gaya Lal’s unexpected defection is said to have created a new political term “Gaya Ram, Gaya Ram”.
Jaya Lal’s stance has created an atmosphere of political instability in Haryana. MLAs also started leaving the Birendra Singh government. 44 MLAs switched parties. One member changed sides five times, two members changed sides four times, three MLAs three times, four MLAs twice, and 34 MLAs changed sides once.
Gaya Lal hands over political legacy to son Udaybhan
Birendra Singh’s government in Haryana lasted for about eight months. On November 2, he resigned as chief minister. The state parliament was dissolved and another parliamentary election was required in 1968. Even after that, Jaya Lal joined many political parties. The names of Arya Sabha, Bharatiya Lok Dal and Janata Party are also included in it. Gaya Lal died in 2009. He handed over his political legacy to his son Udayban. Udayban has also participated in many political parties. He is currently the state president of Haryana Congress.
Governments were formed and deteriorated as political parties changed.
Experts say many Haryana MLAs and ministers have openly changed their stance due to personal ambitions. As a result, national governments continued to form and deteriorate. For a while, party defections became a major challenge to democracy. According to reports, between 1957 and 1967, MPs and MLAs changed parties 542 times. Before the 1967 election, MPs and MLAs changed parties 430 times. After 1967, a record was set of 16 state governments falling due to changes in political parties within 16 months. In Haryana, the government of Chaudhry Devi Lal, associated with the BJP, also collapsed in 1979. Bhajan Lal, who was a minister in the state government, not only usurped the chief minister’s post but also created such a turmoil between the party and the MLAs that it went down in history.
What are the rules regarding when the law on defection comes into effect?
Until the 1980s, such incidents increased significantly. At the same time, Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Rajiv Gandhi became the Congress representative in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections. Rajiv then promised the people to bring anti-defection law. Congress is back in power. Rajiv Gandhi was appointed Prime Minister. Within eight weeks of taking power in 1985, he implemented an anti-defection law.
The law states that if an MLA or MP voluntarily leaves a party and joins another party, he may be disqualified. There is also a provision that if any MLA or MP fails to abide by the party whip, his party membership may be revoked. A law was enacted to prevent defections, but leaders also found solutions. There is also a provision in the law introduced in 1985 that if two-thirds of a party’s MLAs or MPs change parties, they will lose their membership. In 2003, this law was strengthened to prohibit unqualified members from serving as ministers. However, leaders found a solution. The parties began the game of overthrowing state governments by destroying two-thirds of the provinces. Apart from this, there is another way to avoid this situation. In other words, the MP-MLA first resigned from the party and then quit the party.
Why did the tradition of one election per country stop…
The discussion of “one country, one choice” is in full swing in China. However, this is not the first time preparations have been made to finalize the “one country, one choice” policy. Previously, the country had held simultaneous Lok Sabha and Parliament elections four times in 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967. At that time, the tradition of one country, one election was once again undermined due to the changing of parties in other states, including Haryana, creating an atmosphere of political instability. This tradition ceased in 1968-69. Because there were some cases of early dissolution of parliament. In 1970, there was a rebellion against the Congress government at the Center and Indira Gandhi’s government became a minority. Thereafter, in December 1970, he recommended the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. In March 1971, the Fifth People’s House held an early election. Indira Gandhi won a landslide victory. At that time Indira raised the slogan of eradicating poverty in the country.
