Could Indian voters be losing faith in the power of their vote?

When six Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MPs recently crossed over to join the rival faction led by Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra witnessed yet another political rupture. For a state that has spent much of the past seven years navigating rebellions, splits and shifting alliances, the episode felt almost routine.
Yet, Maharashtra is no longer an exception. Across India, voters are increasingly finding that the political formation they vote for on the election day changes shape soon after and, sometimes, becomes unrecognisable from what it was when it knocked on their doors seeking votes.