BJP has continuously strengthened its hold in the country’s politics since forming the government at the Center under the leadership of Narendra Modi in 2014. During this period, the party not only achieved election victory, but also successfully executed the strategy of breaking the leaders, MLAs and MPs of other parties and joining them. This strategy is known in political circles as ‘Operation Lotus’. So let us also know how many MPs and MLAs have joined BJP in the last 12 years…

How many MLAs and MPs joined BJP in the last 12 years?

The biggest success of BJP after 2014 has been to increase its presence in the assemblies. According to the Times of India report, in 2014, BJP had a total of 1,035 MLAs across the country. This number continued to increase and by 2025 it would reach 1,654. That means the number of BJP MLAs has increased by about 600 in a decade.

BJP has made huge gains not only at the level of MLAs but also at the level of MPs. According to the report of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 500 MPs and MLAs defected in the elections held between 2014 and 2021. BJP benefited the most from these. According to the report, during this period, 173 MPs and MLAs left other parties and joined BJP. At the same time, only 33 MPs-MLAs separated from BJP.

According to media reports, the most discussed figure of defection between 2022 and 2026 is that of 168 MPs and MLAs. Of these, 82 percent i.e. about 138 people joined BJP. This means that the destination of more than three out of every four defector leaders was BJP.

Which party suffered the most loss?

The ADR report clearly shows that Congress had to bear the biggest brunt of the defection. Between 2014 and 2021, 177 MPs and MLAs left Congress. Apart from this, 222 candidates also left Congress. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was at second place, whose 20 MPs-MLAs and 153 candidates left the party. Samajwadi Party (SP) lost 18 MPs-MLAs, while 26 MPs-MLAs defected from Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Congress suffered the biggest blow in the period from 2022 to 2026. Media reports show that 57 percent of those who joined BJP were earlier in Congress. That means out of 138 leaders who joined BJP, about 79 had left Congress. However, this figure is only part of a report. The whole picture is even bigger. According to BJP.ORG, by 2026, the total number of BJP MLAs across the country will reach 1,654, which was 1,364 in 2019. That means, BJP gained about 290 MLAs in just 7 years, which also includes the period 2022-2026.

According to prsindia.org, let’s look at some examples of major party defections in 2022-2026:

• 2022: In Maharashtra, about 40 Shiv Sena MLAs parted ways with Eknath Shinde and formed a BJP-supported government. 8 Congress MLAs joined BJP in Goa.
• 2023: After winning the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, 10 BJP MPs resigned from their Lok Sabha seats.
• 2024: In Himachal Pradesh, 6 disqualified rebel Congress MLAs joined BJP.
• 2026: 7 Rajya Sabha MPs of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) joined BJP.

Where was ‘Operation Lotus’ conducted across the country?

The name of ‘Operation Lotus’ has been taken from BJP’s election symbol ‘Lotus’. This strategy started in Karnataka in 2008, but it intensified after 2014…

• Karnataka (2019): Congress-JDS coalition government was formed in the 2018 assembly elections. In 2019, BJP toppled the government by removing many MLAs and made BS Yediyurappa the Chief Minister.
• Madhya Pradesh (2020): Kamal Nath’s Congress government had to fall after the resignation of 22 MLAs. Most of these MLAs later joined BJP. Shivraj Singh Chauhan again took power.
• Goa (2022): Out of 11 Congress MLAs, 8 joined BJP. Due to this, Congress almost got destroyed in Goa.
• Maharashtra (2022): Eknath Shinde rebelled along with 40 Shiv Sena MLAs and formed the government with BJP. Uddhav Thackeray’s government fell.
• Maharashtra (2023): Ajit Pawar rebelled in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and joined the Shinde government.
• Himachal Pradesh (2024): BJP tried to topple Congress’s Sukhwinder Sukhu government through Operation Lotus, when 6 Congress MLAs did cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections.

According to media reports and opposition parties, BJP has so far toppled governments in 6 states through ‘Operation Lotus’.

The biggest question is why did the situation change after Modi?

According to experts, before 2014, BJP was also a big party, but under the leadership of Modi, its political strength increased manifold. There are 5 big reasons behind this:

• strong leadership: Narendra Modi’s popularity and focused leadership made BJP a ‘winning party’. Leaders started feeling that staying in BJP was politically safe and beneficial.
• Organizational Strength: BJP’s organization became stronger under the leadership of Amit Shah. The party created a strong network in every state and adopted an effective strategy to woo the leaders of opposition parties.
• Weakening of opposition: After the defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Congress continued to weaken. Due to leadership crisis and internal strife, many leaders left Congress. At the same time, regional parties also could not stand in front of BJP.
• Slogan of ‘Development’: The Modi government built a strong support base with slogans like ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ and ‘poverty alleviation’. This made the leaders feel that BJP’s policies are popular among the people.
• Legal and Administrative Pressure: The action of agencies like Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI against many opposition leaders also encouraged defection. Many leaders joined BJP to avoid legal cases.

Current situation: NDA’s position in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

By mid-2026, NDA’s position has become quite strong:

• Lok Sabha: After 20 TMC MPs supported the NDA, the strength of the BJP-led NDA alliance has increased to 314. However, to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, two-thirds majority (360 seats) is required in the Lok Sabha. NDA is 46 seats behind. NDA’s position may become stronger if DMK (22 MPs) exits the INDIA block. 6 MPs of Shiv Sena (UBT) faction have also said that they will leave the party and support NDA. That means now NDA will have 319 seats in the Lok Sabha.
• Rajya Sabha: NDA has 148 MPs. After the upcoming elections and by-elections in West Bengal, this number may reach 155. The two-thirds majority figure in Rajya Sabha is 164. For this, NDA needs the support of parties like BJD (5 MPs) and YSR Congress (7 MPs).

Recently, 7 Rajya Sabha MPs of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have also merged with BJP. This has further increased the strength of BJP in Rajya Sabha.

The period between 2022 to 2026 was very beneficial for BJP in terms of defection. Congress was the biggest losing party of this period, while parties like Shiv Sena, TMC and AAP also suffered major setbacks. Under ‘Operation Lotus’, BJP not only weakened the opposition parties but also took its numerical strength to a record level.