NEW DELHI | Nagaland recorded 32 cases of elected MPs and MLAs changing political parties between 2022 and 2026, the highest among states and Union territories during the period, according to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch.

The ADR report, published on September 24, found that 111 sitting MPs and MLAs changed parties after being elected to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha or state assemblies. The figure includes 26 Lok Sabha MPs, seven Rajya Sabha members and 78 MLAs. Nagaland accounted for all 32 cases involving MLAs.

The report said the cases were linked largely to the political re- alignment involving the ruling National- ist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and the Naga People’s Front (NPF). According to the analysis, 25 legislators originally elected from the NDPP were among those who changed parties, while the NPF received 32 legislators, the high- est number among parties receiving law- makers during the period.

West Bengal recorded the second-high- est number with 20 cases, all involving Lok Sabha members. Telangana followed with nine cases, all involving MLAs orig- inally elected from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Goa and Punjab recorded eight cases each. Meghalaya reported six MLA cases, while Manipur recorded five and Arunachal Pradesh four.

Maharashtra also recorded six cases, involving Lok Sabha members elected from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) who subsequently moved to the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, according to the report. Party-wise movement At the party level, the NDPP recorded the highest number of exits with 25, followed by the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) with 20 and the Congress with 19.

The BRS accounted for nine cases, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) recorded seven each. The NPF received the largest number of lawmakers who changed parties, with 32, followed by the BJP with 29 and the Nationalist Citizens Party of India with 20. The Congress received nine, Shiv Sena eight, NPP six and People’s Party of Arunachal four. ADR said its analysis covered four categories: individual defections, party mergers, resignations followed by victories in by-elections, and disqualifications followed by victories in by-elections.

The watchdog cautioned that the list may not be exhaustive because there is no systematically maintained and readily accessible official database tracking legislators who change political parties. ADR calls for anti-defection reforms ADR has proposed changes to the existing anti-defection framework. Among its recommendations is transferring the authority to decide disqualification petitions from presiding officers to the President in the case of MPs and governors in the case of MLAs, based on the Election Commission’s advice. It has also recommended setting a time limit for deciding disqualifica- tion petitions and restricting defectors from holding public office until they are re-elected. The report is based on elections held between 2022 and 2026 and by-elections conducted during the period, with the data covering sitting legislators as of July 12, 2026.