DECODING INTRA-PARTY DISSENT: THE LAWFUL UNDOING OF CONSTITUTIONAL MACHINERY?

Abstract

The recent political spat between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan, and the subsequent legal battle that ensued thereto, has brought about prime focus on the right of intra-party dissent and its permissibility under the Indian Constitution vis-à-vis anti-defection law. The concept of intra-party dissent has barely been discussed and deliberated upon in the Indian context; barring a few media pieces and articles on this topic, the broader Indian legal academic literature has hardly laid any focus on the same. This paper attempts to address this lacuna by analysing various legislative provisions and judicial precedents in India and across the globe. Through this paper, the authors have attempted to discern and unravel the concept of intra-party dissent and showcase the manner in which the concepts of defection and dissent are often wrongly viewed contemporaneously in India. This conceptual intertwining has resulted in the former being used as an apparatus by the political parties to stifle and throttle the latter, resultantly causing the annihilation of intra-party dissent in the Indian democracy. The authors strongly argue that intra-party dissent is an intrinsic feature for the survival and growth of an effervescent democracy, purging of which, through extraneous means or otherwise, has a debilitating effect on the Indian democracy. To prevent this, it is extremely vital to clearly delineate the concepts of defection and dissent and put in place adequate mechanisms to safeguard and promote the right to intra-party dissent.