In Indian politics, "Aya Ram, Gaya Ram" refers to which of the following?

A. Frequent splits in the party.

B. Frequent floor-crossing by legislators.

C. Defection: leaving the party on whose symbol one is elected and joining another party.

D. Instability in political parties.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

B and C only

The correct answer is option (1) - B and C only

Defection means an elected represen­tative leaving the party whose ticket she/he has been elected.

The term 'aya ram, gaya ram' gained popularity within India's political discourse as a way to depict the recurring practice of legislators frequently changing their party affiliations. Translated literally, the phrase signifies "Ram came, Ram went." This phrase originated from a remarkable instance of floor-crossing carried out by Gaya Lal, an MLA in Haryana, in 1967. In the span of two weeks, he changed his party allegiance three times: from Congress to United Front, back to Congress, and then, within just nine hours, back to United Front. It is said that when Gaya Lal announced his departure from the United Front to join the Congress, Congress leader Rao Birendra Singh brought him to a press event in Chandigarh and stated, "Gaya Ram was now Aya Ram." This incident led to the phrase "Aya Ram, Gaya Ram," which became a subject of humor and caricatures. Subsequently, to curb such frequent party-switching, the Constitution of India was amended in 1985 through the Tenth Schedule of the 52nd amendment. This amendment aimed to limit the occurrence of defections in Indian politics.