When an elected representative leaves the party and joins another party, this feature is known as:

Defection

The correct answer is Option 2 - Defection

When an elected representative leaves the party and joins another party, this feature is known as Defection.

The expression ‘aya ram, gaya ram’ became popular in the political vocabulary in India to describe the practice of frequent floorcrossing by legislators. Literally translated the terms meant, Ram came and Ram went. The expression originated in an amazing feat of floor crossing achieved by Gaya Lal, an MLA in Haryana, in 1967. He changed his party thrice in a fortnight, from Congress to United Front, back to Congress and then within nine hours to United Front again! It is said that when Gaya Lal declared his intention to quit the United Front and join the Congress, the Congress leader, Rao Birendra Singh brought him to Chandigarh press and declared “Gaya Ram was now Aya Ram”. Gaya Lal’s feat was immortalised in the phrase “Aya Ram, Gaya Ram” which became the subject of numerous jokes and cartoons. Later, the Constitution was amended to prevent defections.