The Opposition calls it the “BJP washing machine” – a mechanism that allows politicians facing heat from probe agencies on allegations of corruption to evade consequences if they turn against their own and align with the ruling party at the Centre. As many as 25 prominent political leaders facing investigation by central agencies on corruption charges crossed over to the Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014.

Of them, agencies have either given relief or allowed them a long rope to pursue their political agenda, to 23 such leaders, a report by The Indian Express has revealed. As per the report, while three cases have been closed, as many as 20 cases remain stalled or placed on the back-burner following the switch by leaders facing the allegations.

Congress MP Jyoti Mirdha and former TDP MP YS Chowdary are the only two exceptions where there is no evidence of a let-up by the ED even after they joined the BJP.

The list of turncoats includes 10 who crossed over from the Congress, 4 each from the NCP and Shiv Sena, 3 from the Trinamool Congress, 2 from the Telugu Desam Party and one each from the Samajwadi Party and the YSR Congress Party. As many as six of them jumped ship and joined the BJP weeks before the Lok Sabha elections this year.

In contrast, 95 per cent of the prominent politicians who fell under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation post-2014 belonged to the Opposition, an IE report claimed in 2022.

As per the IE report today, the bulk of the action by these central agencies was concentrated in Maharashtra, a state that witnessed severe political upheaval in the 2022-2023 period. This period saw Eknath Shinde engineer a split in the Shiv Sena and form a government with the BJP. It was during this period that Ajit Pawar did the same to the NCP and also joined the NDA government.

Following the NCP split, cases against two top leaders of the party — Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel — were dropped. There are a total of 12 leaders from Maharashtra on the list of 25. Eleven of them switched to the BJP in 2022 or later. These Maharashtra leaders included four each from the Congress, Shiv Sena and the NCP.

Some of these cases present a striking picture:

  • Suvendu Adhikari: An accused in the Narada sting operation, Suvendu Adhikari, a Lok Sabha MP at the time, crossed over to the BJP in 2020. Since 2019, the CBI has been waiting for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s nod to prosecute him. Suvendu is currently the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly.
  • Ajit Pawar: The Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police first filed a closure report in October 2020 soon after the MVA formed a government in Maharashtra. It then sought to reopen it when the NDA came to power – only to close it again after he joined the NDA.
  • Himanta Biswa Sarma: The current Assam Chief Minister faced questioning and raids in the Saradha chit fund scam in 2014 when he was in the Congress. He joined the BJP in 2015. The case against him has barely moved since then.
  • Ashok Chavan: The former Maharashtra CM joined the BJP this year. The case against him is stuck. There is also a stay by the Supreme Court in place on proceedings by the ED and CBI in the Adarsh Housing case.

Speaking to The Indian Express, a CBI official said that investigations carried out by the agency are “based on evidence” and that action in some cases is delayed due to “various reasons” but they remain open.

An ED official, however, said that its cases are based on FIRs registered by other agencies. “If other agencies close their case, it becomes difficult for ED to proceed further. Yet, we have filed chargesheets in many such cases. In cases where the probe is on, action will be taken when required,” the official said, responding to a query on the flip-flops by the agency.