India’s current government is led by the Bharatiya Janta Party or the BJP. It is also the country’s largest national party. It was formed in 1980, though its origins lie in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which was founded in 1951. The Jana Sangh was closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization that continues to play a significant role in shaping the BJP’s ideology.
The party first came to power at the center in 1996, but its government lasted only 13 days. It returned to power in 1998, forming a coalition under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister. His tenure saw India conducting nuclear tests in 1998, economic reforms, and a focus on infrastructure development. However, the BJP lost power in 2004 to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
The BJP made a historic comeback in 2014 by securing 282 seats out of 543 in the Lok Sabha, with Narendra Modi as India’s prime minister. Major policy changes include the revocation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 that criminalized triple talaq in India.
The government’s handling of several protests and crises has faced widespread scrutiny. The 2020–2021 farmer protests, which were sparked by the controversial farm laws that were later repealed, drew significant public attention, with criticism directed at the use of force and the management of the situation. Similarly, the government’s response to the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests raised concerns over its handling of dissent, particularly the use of force. The BJP’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic also attracted criticism, especially regarding the lack of transparency around the death toll, shortages of medical resources like oxygen cylinders, and inadequate preparedness during the second wave.
Additionally, the ongoing inter-tribe conflict in Manipur, which erupted in 2023, has faced criticism for the government’s perceived failure to take adequate action, with accusations of poor crisis management and insufficient intervention in addressing the escalating violence.
1. He is waiting for instructions from Arun Jaitley.
2. RSS mood needs to understood.
3. He is finding it difficult to be his normalself of past 16 years since 2002. He was the main hero and could do anything he wanted to do and say whatever he wanted do . He has forgotten defeat?
4. I suspect he will unleash devilish streak seen by us during 2002.
Silence is golden. Perhaps the PM follows this dictum.
Perhaps there is a sense of disbelief. Perhaps the reasons have not been analysed. Perhaps he feels that by remaining silent he implies that these elections are not important in the context of 2019.
But one undeniable fact is it has stung, and stung hard. Expect the BJP to come all guns blazing in the days to come. The attacks on the family will sharpen and be relentless. He visits Rae Bareli tomorrow and is unlikely to make the visit an ordinary one. The return of Nirav Modi and Méhul Choksi would be facilitated in the next two months leading up to the election.
Every issue that Congress tomtoms will likely be blunted.
Expect the BJP to corner the Congress on its poll promise of farm loan waiver, something that is bound to fail given the financial position of the states and the sheer amount of waiver.
Hence, this silence is dangerous.
The author is a really good script writer. Why in the world would beloved Prime Minister ask forgiveness for ushering a stable governance never seen before in 70 years of independent India.
Perhaps the lutyens media including the author can rejoice all they want on the recent elections, but even a dumb person wouldn’t call the election result as a victory for the Nehruvian Gandhi family or the opposition.
All the opposition can accomplish after a series of electoral losses never seen before across the country is a wafer thin victory after 15 years of BJP government beating anti incumbency in Madhya Pradesh, hard fought victory in Rajasthan and a comprehensive victory in Chattisgarh, rout in Telengana.
If you call this a victory, then this is akin to calling Mr.Rahul Gandhi a potential person for the job of Prime Minister…All you media can promote Mr.Rahul Gandhi as the champion of masses but the fact still remains that this guy lacks even basic iq, he once famously said India is bigger than US and Europe put together… Seriously Mr.Gandhi, you compare size of two Continents with a Country. Even a toddler knows better…
Your victory is too short enjoy it while it lasts, as 2019 elections prospects for BJP and PM Narendra Modi is very bright.
On other issues one cannot say, but a heartfelt Sorry was called for after demonetisation. Forget the rich, whether they keep their money in mattresses or in Switzerland. The poor got washed over by a tsunami of misery and dispossession. The slightly more than a hundred people who visibly perished, standing in queues outside banks, were a tiny tip of the iceberg of those whom this thoughtless move actually killed. I would see the smug spokespersons on TV, not a simple word of sympathy. The most well informed spokesperson is now our central banker.