BJP and the playbook of election dominance

The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) juggernaut rolls on, carving out electoral paths that are creative, combative, and sometimes even contentious.

- BY HOWINDIALIVES.COM

In this ongoing five-year cycle of state elections, which began with the national elections in May 2024, the BJP has won five of nine states. Compared to the previous result in those states, the BJP retained power in two (Arunachal Pradesh and Haryana), and in three, it upended an incumbent (Odisha, Maharashtra and, now, Delhi).

Each win has increased the BJP's hegemony in the Indian political landscape, giving it even greater control over power structures and institutions. It has also delivered crushing blows to several regional parties of significance in their bastions and weakened the other principal national party, the Congress, making it an object of ire among its partners.

One strand that runs through these BJP wins is disruption, by any means. Given the electoral rewards this strategy has delivered, and the tall electoral challenges that lie ahead over the next year (West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala), expect this playbook to continue.