How ideology shapes Indian politics

Ideology is intrinsic to the Indian political landscape and the BJP and the issues it emphasises have an outsized role in determining the country's ideological structure

- Nicholas Haas and Rajeshwari Majumdar

In the 2014 general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) notched a historic victory, becoming the first party to win an outright majority in the Lok Sabha since 1984 and only the second party ever to achieve that distinction after the Indian National Congress (INC). In 2019, the BJP repeated this feat, ushering in pronouncements that India was witnessing the dawn of a "fourth party system". As next spring's 2024 polls loom, debates continue about what drives the BJP's success, and what, if anything, those factors say about the political landscape in the coming general elections.

Historically, scholarly responses to such questions make little mention of political ideology. Rather, the dominant political science discourse has long characterised India as a "patronage democracy" where political behaviour is best understood through the lenses of clientelism and identity-based parochialism. According to these accounts, politicians and their supporters primarily engage in a quid pro quo exchange of votes for expected material benefits; is viewed as important only insofar as it alters the perceived likelihood that an individual or their community - will receive more government resources.

The lack of attention to political ideology contrasts strongly with the recent ubiquity of ideological debates in Indian politics. For instance, the BJP has emphasised and sought to establish ownership over cultural issues, contrasting its Hindu nationalist positions with the so-called "secular" Opposition's policies. The BJP's 2014 election campaign was defined by the idea of radical change. It promised potential voters an efficient, corruption-free government that would deliver ambitious development projects, generate employment opportunities, strengthen India's position in the world through a more aggressive national security and foreign policy, and - importantly-pave the way for India's "true Hindu identity" to flourish.