3 defectors, 6 murders, 3 rapes, 1 party

The stories of Kuldeep Singh Sengar, Sanjay Sinh and Sakshi Maharaj and what they tell us about our politics, policing, justice system, and the BJP

Two-and-a-half champion serial defectors have been in our political headlines lately.

The first, and the most familiar, is Kuldeep Singh Sengar of Unnao rape-murder infamy.

The second is former Amethi ‘Raja’, ex-MP and ex-minister Sanjay Sinh, who has just jumped the Congress party’s sinking ship.

And the third is Sakshi Maharaj, the BJP’s recently elected Unnao MP. We count him as half because he hasn’t done anything particularly political or criminal lately. He only earned what we might call a mention in despatches, or collateral infamy, for having called on Sengar in jail to thank him for supporting him in