When Bengal’s beloved Mithun da, or actor-politician Mithun Chakraborty likened himself to a cobra last Sunday, he wasn’t kidding. The Disco King had, after all, slithered his way from the extreme Left in his youth to a Rajya Sabha membership on an All India Trinamool Congress ticket; his final chhobol (Bengali, for snakebite) was joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the upcoming West Bengal state elections. He’s definitely not the first, or the last people’s leader to switch between opposing camps. From swap-overs in politics — remember Congress’ Jyotiraditya Scindia joining the BJP last year — to recurring poaching wars in the IT, retail, telecom, banking, insurance and other sectors, there’s much to be learned from these moves.

Chakraborty with TMC chief Mamata Banerjee. Pic/PTI