Of 276 candidates who switched parties in five states during the 2022 general election, 27 percent left the BSP and 13 percent left Congress for other political organizations, the electoral rights body ADR said on Tuesday.

The National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) analyzed the affidavits of 276 candidates and 85 MLAs who switched parties between 2017 and 2022 and contested that year’s elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur .

According to the report, 27 percent (75 candidates) left the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to join another party in the recent general election, while 13 percent (37 candidates) left Congress.

In the 2022 polls, 54 (20 percent) of the 276 candidates joined the Samajwadi Party (SP), followed by 35 (13 percent) candidates who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and 31 (11 percent) candidates joined at the BSP.

Most MLAs — 27 (32 percent) — left the BJP, while 24 (28 percent) MLAs left Congress to contest recent polls.

The report added that 32 (38 percent) of 85 recontested MLAs joined the BJP, followed by 19 (22 percent) MLAs who joined the SP and 9 (11 percent) MLAs who joined Congress.