India, May 10 -- With the appointment of Suvendu Adhikari as Chief Minister in West Bengal, the BJP has once again demonstrated its willingness to repose faith in leaders who defected from rival parties. In more than half a dozen states, the party has elevated such leaders to the highest executive office. While this has generated unease within sections of the BJP's old guard, the central leadership appears to view it as a strategic necessity rather than a compromise.

With the exception of Bihar, the BJP has generally turned to defectors in states where it lacked a sufficiently strong indigenous leadership base. Even in Bihar-a key Hindi heartland state-the party surprised observers by appointing Samrat Choudhary, who had joined the BJP i...