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 The 2020–2021 farmer protests, which were sparked by the controversial farm laws that were later repealed, drew significant public attention, with criticism directed at the use of force and the management of the situation.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.
Prof PK Sharma, Freelance Journalist, Barnala(Punjab)
The National Interest is very well poised to experience and scatter variety of colours and lights on the Indian Scene !
It will be quite interesting, amusing and amazing to find ” pleasant” but “unexpected ” developments taking place
during this spring season of elections !
The Indians to my mind should be mentally and physically prepared to view a political spectrum decorated every now
and then with different hues and odours !
The show of politics has started picking up now ! It will display variety of theatrics, rhetorics, dramas, melodramas and
never viewed tales earlier on !
In the entire show, truth will allude remaining a suspense but ultimately triumphing !
Many startling innovations are in the offing on the political map of India !
Prof PK Sharma, Freelance Journalist
Pom Anm Nest,Barnala(Punjab)
I remember a story by Munshi Prem Chand in today’s circumstances. It is ” Namak ka Daroga” where the writer says that an honest man can not have friends but enemies.But people have realised and whatever all of the disgruntled dishonest people may say he will be the choice of the people
The author seems very cynical may be due to his own situations.id anyone reaches out to opponents in a civil manner why cast aspersions? This bias comes from one’s own thinking,in older days there were politicians who.were butter opponents but friends as their differences we’re ideological and not personal, have seen ideological apart politicians as friends vajpayee and bahuguna, vajpayee and surjeet, et Al comes to mind immediately.also.this bunkum of one family rule is stretching an argument too far we forget that they were dull elected by people of India as others were and casting doubt is belittling people of india.so my request to journalists be true to your location and not your greed
Rajiv allowed kar seva at Ayodhya which led to the destruction of Babr Masjid and paved the way for BJP to capture power. Rajiv’s plan was to get Hindu votes by allowing Kar seva. But it backfired. Rahul should not encourage the militant and fanatical regional Shiv Sena which will undermine Congress chances in Maharashtra and other parts of India.
Mr Sekhar Gupta ,you have taken names of Sri Pranab , LK Advani and Sitaram Kesari.. for learning , may be you mean political philosophy coupled with social dignity and decency. I exempt you because you belong to younger generation comparitavely. For political knowledge ,maintaining personal equations , the number 1 person whom we can quote is late Sri Chandrasekhar about whom you have written an article recently. The people who gave some sort of neo modern midway political philosophy coupled with human decency and dignity were Acharya Narendra Dev , minoo Madani , Ashok Mehta , Chandrasekhar ,Jaya Prakash Narayan .to some extent Lohia likes like Vajpayee ,LK, madhok, Malhotra are prisoners of opiates philosophy. Coming to extremists when many people prefer to say charumujamdar , satyamurthy. Of of all the legendary was MNRoy.
Drivel…without an iota of sound, materialist analysis. As usual!
The BJP has long dreamed of shat pratishat Maharashtra. It came tantalisingly close in October 2014, with about 123 assembly seats, out of 288. It fought separately from the Shiv Sena but managed to detach the NCP from the Congress, making it a four way fight. There was a mountain of anti incumbency, after fifteen years. Also the warm afterglow of the May 2014 general election. Today, all the parameters have changed. The NCP is back with the Congress. There is double incumbency building up after four years of pedestrian rule. From inside the tent, the SS continues to rain invective on an almost daily basis. There is zero prospect of winning Maharashtra – the largest of the state ATMs – single handedly. Hence the continuing outreach to an estranged ally. 2. The Congress and the Shiv Sena go back a long way. CM V P Naik used it to break the stranglehold of the unions, especially over the textile industry. Amitabh Bachchan saved Bal Thackeray from going to jail during the emergency. Successive Congress – later in alliance with the NCP – governments in Mantralaya have allowed it to milk the BMC in peace. So the tweet is more in the nature of a coming out moment. Even Mamata Banerjee, with 30% Muslim populism in Bengal, drops in to discuss the weather with Uddhav Thackeray in Bombay. No more deeply pragmatic formation in Indian politics than the SS.
As a Hindutwavadi party SS has no future because the BJP is better equipped with Sangh Parivar on it’s side. So SS must give up Hindutwa and join hands with anti BJP forces. They can take up issues like unemployment and hardships of office goers to keep the organisation alive. With BJP they are sure to face a natural death sooner than later.
1. This anybody but Modi is actually a trap by Congress so that it van reach to 150 (best case scenario). If so, there will be repeat of 2004 and if not Rahul, Meera Kumar or any puppet will be PM.
2. Modi around 230 is an ideal scenario some in Lutyin circuit console themselves with. In reality, Modi -Shah is in for some bigger things.
3. Uddhav is what Uday Chopra in films now. 1st half of 2019 will be his last relevance period in politics -anywhichway. Thereafter he will be just Ajit Sing of Maharashtra
Fair game! If Modi can show his inclination towards KSR, who hopes to spearhead a third front, so it’s what is wrong in RaGa sending birthday wishes to UT. Smart move, I would say.
A paid presentation by antiforces journalist calling BJP a religious party….