DECODING THE RISE OF BJP

Strong ideological roots, efficient governance with targeted delivery of welfare schemes and strong expansion and outreach have been attributed to the BJP’s rise in India’s polity

- Arjun Yadav

AUTHORSPEAK: Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Environment, Forest and Climate Change

POLITICAL scientists and analysts have divided India’s electoral politics history into several phases, such as the one-party domination phase of the Congress Party, the rise of anti-Congress parties in the 60s and a multi-party coalition government phase from the 90s. The coalition government phase seemed to dominate the electoral scene in the country until 2014 when the BJP crossed the magical number of 272 in that year’s General Election, becoming the first party to gain majority in nearly 30 years. This feat was yet again repeated in the 2019 General Elections. By noon on May 23, 2019, it was clear that the BJP would cross the 300-seat mark on its own, registering an even more significant victory than 2014.

How did the BJP manage to pull off such a performance? What led to its extraordinary rise? Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Ila Patnaik, Indian economist and former Principal Economic Advisor to the Government of India, authors of the recently published book The Rise of the BJP, share with BW Businessworld insights into the making of the world’s largest political party.

Strong Historical and Ideological Roots