Chhattisgarh Vikas Party was an extremely short-lived group of twelve MLAs who had defected from the Bhartiya Janata Party and announced the grouping's name with the suffix 'Party' in order to circumvent the anti-defection law, and merged in to the Congress Party the next day. Chhattisgarh Vikas Party was a vehicle to carry the defectors safely in to the party of choice without inviting the wrath of the anti-defection law. It would be wrong to call the grouping a political party. political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. CVP was formed on December 20, 2002 when 12 members of the state legislative assembly belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party

Bharatiya Janata Party

The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...

 broke away. CVP was led by Tarun Chatterji. CVP was recognized by the Congress

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

-affiliated Speaker of the assembly. The following day CVP merged into the Indian National Congress

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

.