What is Horse trading?
Horse trading in Indian politics, which has nothing to do with actual horses but got its name from the buying and selling of horses, describes an incident where one political party is accused of stealing the ministers or leaders of another party.
It is also used to describe suspected corrupt political practices, such as vote-trading, under-the-table financial transactions, and political leader poaching.
Laws for Horse trading
Article 102 of the constitution of India lays down the grounds under which a legislature may be disqualified from being a member of the house.
History of Horse trading
The term Horse trading came around in 1820 and owes its origin to the shrewdness of horse traders who bought and sold horses. In politics it implies any long out negotiations characterized by hard bargaining and compromises. The term used politically for the first time in Sweden, the May 1933 agreement between the Swedish Social Democratic Party and the Swedish Farmers. Horse trading involves practices of money dealing under table poaching of political leaders intending of bring down a government.
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Horse trading in Indian Politics
In Maharashtra
Eknath shindhe chief minister of Maharashtra in Jun 2022, has claimed he has a support of 40 seats out of 55 Sena MLAs and has reached the critical number required to split the party. Congress party accused the BJP indulging in horse trading to topple the government but opposition BJP has denied charges saying the party has nothing to do with the crisis in the state.
In Madhya Pradesh
The state of Madhya Pradesh had major political unrest in 2020, which resulted in the demise of the coalition government led by the Congress and the ascent of the BJP. Congress won 114 seats in the 2018 Assembly elections, making it the single-largest party. With the aid of independent MLAs, as well as MLAs from the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party, Congress was able to form the state’s administration in Madhya Pradesh. Cracks between Jyotiraditya Scindia, then one of the most famous young leaders in the Congress, and Kamal Nath, the chief minister, have been visible since the establishment of the administration. As their disagreement grew more intense, Scindia eventually announced his resignation from Congress on March 10, 2020.
In Karnataka
The controversy in Karnataka, known as “Operation Kamala” by the media. The BJP became the only major party in the state after winning 110 seats in the 2008 Assembly elections. The majority score, however, was 113. Six independent MLAs helped the BJP build the BS Yediyurappa-led coalition government. A disagreement was then reported after that. In an operation that was purportedly funded by a mining billionaire, the party is accused of poaching three Congress MLAs and four JD(S) MLAs in order to bolster the administration.
Ten years later, Karnataka held another election for its state’s assembly, and this time, a new issue broke out that the media dubbed “Operation Kamala 2.0.” The BJP gained 104 seats, according to the results announced in May 2018, but once again fell short of a majority. On the other side, the JD(S) had won 37 seats, while the Congress party had won 80. HD Kumaraswamy would serve as the leader of the coalition government that the two sides opted to establish. But according to reports, the BJP consistently asserted that the current administration will not endure through January 2019. After accusations of poaching surfaced, the administration reportedly came to an end when 15 coalition MLAs and two independent MLAs refused to support it. Poaching allegations were made, and the government reportedly fell after 15 coalition MLAs and two independent MLAs declined to vote in favor of the motion of confidence. After the dissident MLAs joined the BJP, the party once more became the Karnataka government.