The world's largest party has a housekeeping problem. In its enthusiasm to grow, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) risks becoming a junkyard for politicians who change parties as easily as they change kurtas. Whether they moved out of fear or favour is beside the point. That they are susceptible to either is the point. Call it what it is: opportunism.

Some arithmetic of growth: when a party rises to the top, it must displace others to make room, and the greatest displacement is suffered by the erstwhile biggest party, which here is the Indian National Congress. An analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms found that 111 sitting MPs and MLAs changed parties between 2022 and 2026, and the BJP took in more than a quarter of them, second only to the Naga People's Front. Widen the lens, and the picture gets more striking. Chief ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Pema Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh), N. Biren Singh (Manipur) and Manik Saha (Tripura) all began their careers in the Congress. West Bengal's Suvendu Adhikari came via the Trinamool Congress, and the Congress before that. Jyotiraditya Scindia, now a Union minister, and Jitin Prasada are Congress alumni too. The seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs led by Raghav Chadha have joined recently, and the Shiv Sena has contributed its share. The list is far from exhaustive. At this rate, the BJP's party meetings could double as Congress reunions, with a saffron dress code.

The problem is not merely changed loyalty or ideological flexibility. Too often it is the hunger to share power, to secure a ministerial berth, or to find a safe harbour from legal scrutiny. In the process, they betray the mandate voters gave them and erode public trust by putting personal gain above conviction.

The defectors have their defence ready: aligning with power brings better access to resources and greater influence, and therefore faster local development for their constituencies. Perhaps. But loyalty that runs on incentives lasts only as long as the incentives do. When the tide turns, these are the first to leave, and "rats abandoning a sinking ship" is an image that exists for a reason.

To be fair, the BJP's consolidation of power is understandable, given that it started the third term as a coalition government. But defectors are unreliable allies. Ants flock to sweetness and leave when it runs out. Worse, they are termites: they hollow out from within, quietly and invisibly, just as they did to the parties they left. By the time the damage shows, the foundations have already been eaten.

So the party would do well to beware. A big tent is a fine thing, but nobody should mistake a termite for a load-bearing pillar.