[2] Beginning in the 1960s, the rise of coalition politics increased the incidence of defections as elected representatives sought to occupy a berth in the cabinet of ministers.
[7] 1977–79 was one of the crucial periods in Indian politics when the first-ever national non-Congress administration, led by Morarji Desai, was driven out of power due to the defection of 76 parliamentarians.
But Ashoke Kumar Sen justified the act of allowing mass defections by terming it as freeing the legislators from "chains of obscurantism and orthodox politics".
Sachin Pilot and his MLAs (from Congress' Rajasthan constituency) moved to the high court and challenged the anti-defection law; stating that the provision should not jeopardize the fundamental freedom of speech and expression of a member of the house.
They have also demanded the clause 2(1)(a), to be declared ultra vires (outside the scope) of the basic structure of the Constitution, and the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a).
The primary intentions of the law were: The Chavan committee suggested that a member who changes party allegiance for monetary benefit or other forms of greed, such as a promise of executive office, should not only be removed from parliament but also barred from contesting elections for a specified time.
[18] The Speaker of the Lok Sabha did not allow the defecting members of the breakaway faction of Janata Dal to explain their point of view.
[20][19] In 1991, Janata Dal (S) was accused of undermining the spirit of the anti-defection law by keeping defecting members in ministerial posts.
Finally, responding to pressure to save the fallen dignity of the Speaker and of the House, the Prime Minister discharged the defecting members from their ministerial posts.
[19] Some legal luminaries of the time suggested that a legitimate remedy be made accessible to legislators to seek protection from the Speaker's decision.
A committee headed by Pranab Mukherjee proposed the Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Bill, noting that the exception provided by allowing a split, granted in paragraph three of the Schedule, was being grossly exploited, causing multiple divisions in various political parties.
Further, the committee observed, the lure of personal gain played a significant aspect in defections and resulted in political horse-trading.