Everybody loves sleeping with the kith and kin of the enemy but does it help reap gains the morning after?  

Ever since Ravan's brother Vibhishan switched sides before the Ramayan war, poaching from the enemy's family has been a perennial feature of politics from the Cold War to Indian politics.

History suggests that such defections hardly bring any lasting gain beyond an initial flutter and short-lived bragging rights, but the trend continues. When Amritsar businessman Daljeet Singh Kohli joined the BJP on Friday, he gained his 15 minutes of fame by waking the country to the realisation that their Prime Minister had a brother.

A gloating Narendra Modi hugged Manmohan Singh's half-brother to declare his entry would "further strengthen' the party. But within a day, the BJP claim of netting a prize catch has met with scorn. The BJP claims Manmohan has weakened the UPA, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, "yet somehow we are to believe that his unknown brother will strengthen BJP.

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