Which one of the following Constitutional Amendment Acts first introduced the anti defection provisions into the Constitution of India to curb political defections?

Introduction / Context:
In parliamentary democracies, frequent defections of elected representatives from one political party to another can destabilise governments and weaken public faith in the electoral process. In India, this problem became serious in the decades after independence and earned the nickname Aya Ram Gaya Ram politics. To address this, anti defection provisions were inserted into the Constitution. The question tests whether you remember which specific Constitutional Amendment Act first introduced these anti defection provisions into the Constitution of India.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The question clearly refers to anti defection provisions in the Constitution of India.
- It asks which Constitutional Amendment Act introduced these provisions for the first time.
- The options list different numbered Amendment Acts with their likely years.
- We assume the standard understanding that the anti defection law is contained in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

Concept / Approach:
The anti defection law was introduced by adding the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution. This schedule lays down when a member is considered to have defected and what consequences follow. It also deals with disqualification on grounds of defection. The Tenth Schedule was inserted by a specific amendment, and remembering that number is a frequent examination point. The correct approach is to recall that this was the Fifty second Amendment Act of 1985, which came into force in the mid nineteen eighties to combat large scale floor crossing in legislatures.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that the anti defection provisions are contained in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India.Step 2: Remember that the Tenth Schedule was inserted by a Constitutional Amendment Act passed in 1985.Step 3: Note that among the options, the only amendment matching this is the Fifty second Amendment Act, 1985.Step 4: Confirm that other amendments listed are related to different subjects, such as service conditions, salaries or other constitutional adjustments.Step 5: Select Fifty second Amendment Act, 1985 as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, you can cross check with standard polity textbooks that discuss the Tenth Schedule. They usually state that the Tenth Schedule, containing the anti defection law, was added by the Fifty second Amendment Act, 1985. Many exam questions directly state this connection, reinforcing the memory cue that ten plus five plus two equals the Tenth Schedule and Fifty second Amendment, although this is only a mnemonic. This independent confirmation supports our choice of option B.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
The Fifty first Amendment Act, 1984 dealt with reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, not with defection. The Fifty third and Fifty fourth Amendment Acts relate to statehood issues and salary matters of constitutional authorities, and do not introduce the Tenth Schedule. The Forty fourth Amendment Act, 1978 focused mainly on restoring democratic safeguards after the Emergency, modifying emergency provisions and fundamental rights, but it did not bring in the anti defection law. Therefore all these options are factually incorrect for this question.

Common Pitfalls:
Students often confuse the Forty fourth and Fifty second Amendments because both are important in political history. Another mistake is to associate any amendment from the nineteen seventies and eighties with anti defection simply because that was the period of coalition politics. Some also mix up the Tenth Schedule with other schedules such as the Seventh Schedule on Union, State and Concurrent Lists. Careful reading and targeted revision of major amendments can prevent this confusion.

Final Answer:
Fifty second Amendment Act, 1985 is the Constitutional Amendment that first introduced the anti defection provisions into the Constitution of India.