What is 'defection'?

(1) When an individual migrates to another country
(2) Parties with different ideologies
(3) A catchy phrase
(4) An elected representative leaving the party on whose ticket she/he has been elected

4

Defection means an elected representative leaves the party on whose symbol he/she was elected and joins another party. After the 1967 general election, the breakaway Congress legislators played an important role in installing non-Congress governments in three States - Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The constant realignments and shifting political loyalties in this period gave rise to the expression ‘Aya Ram, Gaya Ram’