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106-771: The IES was formed based on the recommendations of the 1886 Public Service Commission, as part of the Superior Education Service, which comprised also the Provincial Education Service. In practice the IES was mostly British, and the Provincial Education Service was staffed by Indians, with substantial differentials of pay between the services. As a delayed consequence of the Islington Commission of 1912 on public services in India,

212-477: A Rath Yatra (chariot journey) to Ayodhya in support of the Ram temple movement. According to Guha, the imagery employed by the yatra was "religious, allusive, militant, masculine, and anti-Muslim". Advani was placed under preventive detention on the orders of the then Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav . A large number of kar sevaks (religious volunteers) nonetheless converged at Ayodhya, and some attacked

318-537: A Hindu nationalist ideology. As of January 2024, it is the country's biggest political party in terms of representation in the Parliament of India as well as state legislatures . The party's origins lie in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh , which was founded in 1951 by Indian politician Syama Prasad Mukherjee , after he left Hindu Mahasabha to form a party as the political wing of RSS. After

424-551: A joint session of the Parliament, where the numerical superior Lok Sabha allowed the bill to pass. The act was subsequently used to prosecute hundreds of people accused of terrorism. However, it was criticised by opposition parties and scholars for being an infringement upon civil liberties , and the National Human Rights Commission of India stated that it had been used to target Muslims. It

530-570: A Hindu country to the exclusion of other religions, making the BJP a Hindu nationalist party in a general sense. The BJP moderated its stance after the NDA was formed in 1998, due to the presence of parties with a broader set of ideologies. The BJP's Hindutva ideology has been reflected in many of its government policies. It supports the construction of the Ram Mandir temple at the disputed site of

636-476: A coalition; this caused the shelving of the Jana Sangh's more radical agenda. In 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a state of emergency . The Jana Sangh took part in the widespread protests, with thousands of its members being imprisoned along with other agitators across the country. In 1977, the emergency was withdrawn and general elections were held. The Jana Sangh merged with parties from across

742-549: A criterion for citizenship under Indian law : it attracted global criticism , and sparked widespread protests that were halted by the COVID-19 pandemic . Counter-demonstrations against the protests developed into the 2020 Delhi riots , caused chiefly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims. Of the 53 people killed, two-thirds were Muslim. In 2013, the Supreme Court of India reinstated the controversial Section 377 of

848-635: A historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. Over its first term the Modi administration appointed other RSS members to lead universities and research institutions, and recruitment of faculty members favoring the RSS increased. Scholars Nandini Sundar and Kiran Bhatty write that many of these appointees did not possess the qualifications for their positions. The Modi administration also made numerous changes in government-approved history textbooks. These changes de-emphasizing

954-750: A low figure relative to the number of seats it won. This was the first instance since 1984 of a single party achieving an outright majority in the Indian Parliament and the first time that it achieved a majority in the Lok Sabha on its own strength. Support was concentrated in the Hindi-speaking belt in North-central India. The magnitude of the victory was not predicted by most opinion and exit polls. Political analysts have suggested several reasons for this victory, including

1060-615: A medium-range ballistic missile. They were seen as an attempt to display India's military prowess to the world, and a reflection of anti-Pakistan sentiment within the BJP. The Vajpayee government ordered the Indian armed forces to expel the Pakistani soldiers occupying Kashmir territory, later known as the Kargil War . Although the government was later criticised for the intelligence failures that did not detect Pakistani presence, it

1166-452: A minor presence in parliament until 1967. The Jana Sangh's first major campaign, begun in early 1953, centred on a demand for the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir into India. Mukherjee was arrested in May 1953 for violating orders from the state government restraining him from entering Kashmir. He died of a heart attack the following month, while still in jail. Mauli Chandra Sharma

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1272-554: A more protectionist turn on international trade during his second term, withdrawing from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership talks and introducing the 2020 Atmanirbhar Bharat economic plan, which emphasises national self-sufficiency. Compared to Congress, the BJP takes a more aggressive and nationalistic position on defence policy and terrorism. The Vajpayee-led NDA government carried out nuclear weapons tests and enacted

1378-433: A more aggressive stance on defence and terror and neo-liberal economic policies. In 2001, Bangaru Laxman , then the BJP president, was filmed accepting a bribe in a sting operation . He was compelled to resign and was subsequently prosecuted, eventually being sentenced to four years in prison. On 27 February 2002, a train carrying Hindu pilgrims was burned outside the town of Godhra , killing 59 people. The incident

1484-469: A parliamentary election. The left parties, most notably the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India , contested on their own in their strongholds West Bengal , Tripura and Kerala , confronting both Congress and NDA forces. In several other states, such as Punjab and Andhra Pradesh , they took part in seat sharings with Congress. In Tamil Nadu they were part of

1590-514: A radical shift from BJP orthodoxy while maintaining some aspects of it. Its policy also represented a significant change from the Nehruvian idealism of previous governments, opting instead for realism. His party criticised him for adopting a much more moderate stance with Pakistan. In 1998, he made a landmark visit to Pakistan, and inaugurated the Delhi–Lahore Bus service. Vajpayee signed

1696-685: A record eight years out of office. It was able to put together a comfortable majority of more than 335 members out of 543 with the help of its allies. The 335 members included both the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance , the governing coalition formed after the election, external support from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Kerala Congress (KC) and the Left Front . After facing criticism from her own party and from

1802-610: A significant influence on the BJP's ideology. During the Cold War, the party and its affiliates strongly opposed India's long standing policy of non-alignment , and instead advocated closeness to the United States. In the post-Cold War era, the party has largely embraced the Indian foreign policy consensus of improving relations with the United States, while stressing a desire for a more multipolar world order. The Vajpayee government's foreign policy in many ways represented

1908-473: A strongly neo-liberal agenda, presented as a drive towards development. Its policies have included extensive privatisation of infrastructure and services, as well as a significant rollback of labour and environmental regulations. While this was praised by the business community, commentators criticised it as catering to the BJP's upper-class constituency instead of the poor. The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of

2014-637: A symbol of revolt against the British Raj . Lotus is also recognised as the national flower of India . Thus, use of the symbol gives the party a nationalist as well as Hindutva appeal. Besides these, the party also heavily uses the Saffron colour in its promotional materials and campaigning. Similar to Lotus, the Saffron colour also has a major significance within Hinduism. The most common flag used by

2120-498: A temple once stood there. The agitation was on the basis of the belief that the site is the birthplace of Rama, and that a temple had been demolished to construct the mosque. The BJP threw its support behind this campaign and made it a part of their election platform. It won 86 Lok Sabha seats in 1989, a tally which made its support crucial to the National Front government of V. P. Singh . In September 1990, Advani began

2226-527: Is a significant range of economic ideologies within the party. In the 1980s, like the Jana Sangh , it reflected the thinking of the RSS and its affiliates. It supported swadeshi (the promotion of indigenous industries and products) and a protectionist export policy. However, it supported internal economic liberalisation , and opposed the state-driven industrialisation favoured by the Congress. During

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2332-469: Is opposed to same-sex marriage , stating in a legal affidavit that legalizing it would cause "complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country" and that it was "not comparable with Indian family unit concept of a husband, wife & children which necessarily presuppose a biological man as 'husband', a biological woman as 'wife' and children born out of union". The BJP's economic policy has changed considerably since its founding. There

2438-586: The 14th Lok Sabha . Seven states also held assembly elections to elect state governments. They were the first elections fully carried out with electronic voting machines . On 13 May the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the lead party of the National Democratic Alliance conceded defeat. The Indian National Congress , which had governed India for all but five years from independence until 1996, returned to power after

2544-511: The 1984 general election , it grew in strength on the back of the movement around Ram Janmabhoomi in Uttar Pradesh . Following victories in several state elections and better performances in national elections, the BJP became the largest political party in the Parliament in 1996; however, it lacked a majority in the lower house of Parliament, and its government, under its then-leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee , lasted for only 13 days. After

2650-466: The 1998 general election , the BJP-led coalition known as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) under prime minister Vajpayee formed a government that lasted for a year. Following fresh elections, the NDA government—again headed by Vajpayee—lasted for a full term in office; this was the first non-Congress government to do so. In the 2004 general election , the NDA suffered an unexpected defeat, and for

2756-481: The 2017 Doklam standoff with China. The Modi government considers national security to be one of their key focuses and has implemented many long-standing defence reforms. In August 2019, the Modi government established the post of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to ensure better coordination between all three services, a reform that was widely requested after the 1999 Kargil War. The Department of Military Affairs

2862-543: The Babri Mosque . This issue was its major poll plank in the 1991 general elections. However, the demolition of the mosque during a BJP rally in 1992 resulted in a backlash against it, leading to a decline of the temple's prominence in its agenda. The education policy of the NDA government reorganised the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and tasked it with extensively revising

2968-626: The Bharatiya Jana Sangh , popularly known as the Jana Sangh, founded by Syama Prasad Mukherjee in 1951 in response to the politics of the dominant National Congress party . It was founded in collaboration with the Hindu nationalist volunteer organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and was widely regarded as the political arm of the RSS. The Jana Sangh's aims included the protection of India's "Hindu" cultural identity, in addition to countering what it perceived to be

3074-535: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Democratic Progressive Alliance . Two parties refused to go along with either Congress or BJP, Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party . Both are based in Uttar Pradesh , the largest state of India (in terms of population). Congress made several attempts to form alliances with them, but in vain. Many believed that they would become the 'spoilers' that would rob Congress of an electoral victory. The result

3180-475: The Lahore Declaration , which was an attempt to improve Indo-Pakistani relations that deteriorated after the 1998 nuclear tests. However, the presence of Pakistani soldiers and militants in the disputed Kashmir territory was discovered a few months later, causing the 1999 Kargil War . The war ended a couple of months later, with the expulsion of the infiltrators two months later, without any shift in

3286-764: The Line of Control that marked the de facto border between the two countries. Despite the war, Vajpayee continued to display a willingness to engage Pakistan in dialogue. This was not well received among the BJP cadre, who criticised the government for being "weak". This faction of the BJP asserted itself at the post-Kargil Agra summit , preventing any significant deal from being reached. 2004 Indian general election Atal Bihari Vajpayee BJP Manmohan Singh INC General elections were held in India in four phases between 20 April and 10 May 2004. Over 670 million people were eligible to vote, electing 543 members of

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3392-651: The Prevention of Terrorism Act , which later came under heavy criticism. It also deployed troops to evict infiltrators from Kargil, and supported the United States War on Terror . Although previous Congress governments developed the capability for a nuclear weapons test, the Vajpayee government broke with India's historical strategy of avoiding it and authorised Pokhran-II , a series of five nuclear tests in 1998. The tests came soon after Pakistan tested

3498-761: The Shiv Sena in addition to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Biju Janata Dal . Among these regional parties, the Shiv Sena was the only one that had an ideology similar to the BJP; Amartya Sen , for example, called the coalition an "ad hoc" grouping. The NDA had a majority with outside support from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Vajpayee returned as Prime Minister. However,

3604-426: The Uttar Pradesh assembly. On 6 December 1992, the RSS and its affiliates organised a rally involving more than 100,000 VHP and BJP activists at the site of the mosque. The rally developed into a frenzied attack that ended with the demolition of the mosque . Over the following weeks, waves of violence between Hindus and Muslims erupted all over the country, killing over 2,000 people. The government briefly banned

3710-537: The special status given to Jammu and Kashmir . After assembly elections across the country in 1967, the party entered into a coalition with several other parties, including the Swatantra Party and the socialists. It formed governments in various states across the Hindi Belt , including Madhya Pradesh , Bihar and Uttar Pradesh . It was the first time the Jana Sangh held political office, albeit within

3816-492: The 1996 elections, and later when it was in government, the BJP shifted its stance away from protectionism and towards globalisation . The tenure of the NDA saw an unprecedented influx of foreign companies in India. This was criticised, including by the BJP's affiliates, the RSS and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch: the RSS stated that the BJP was not being true to its swadeshi ideology. The two NDA governments in

3922-520: The BJP government has enacted several priorities of the RSS, including criminalising the practice of triple talaq , and revoking Article 370 of the Constitution of India (which granted autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir ), abrogating its statehood . India has experienced nationwide democratic backsliding under the BJP's rule since 2014 . The name as well as the symbol of the party were selected by

4028-523: The BJP in their global network. However, BJP's youth organisation remains a member of the youth wing of the IDU. During Modi's first term as prime minister, the BJP expanded its presence in several states where it had previously been a minor player, and it regained power in other states where it had been in opposition for a considerable period. Assam , Tripura , Arunachal Pradesh , Uttar Pradesh , Bihar , Haryana , and Jammu and Kashmir saw an increase in

4134-548: The BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao , who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as

4240-548: The BJP's influence, and the party entered government in several of these states. In 2019, the BJP won the general election with an increased majority. Soon after returning to power, on 5 August 2019, the Modi administration revoked the special status, or limited autonomy , granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir —a region administered by India as a state. This state consists of

4346-588: The Emergency of 1975–1977, the Jana Sangh merged with several other political parties to form the Janata Party ; it defeated the then-incumbent Indian National Congress in the 1977 general election . After three years in power, the Janata Party dissolved in 1980, with the members of the erstwhile Jana Sangh reconvening to form the modern-day BJP. Although initially unsuccessful—winning only two seats in

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4452-505: The Indian Penal Code , which, among other things, criminalises homosexuality. There was a popular outcry, although clerics, including Muslim religious leaders, stated that they supported the verdict. BJP president Rajnath Singh said that the party supported Section 377, because it believed that homosexuality was unnatural, though the party softened the stance after its victory in the 2014 general elections. The Modi government

4558-533: The Jana Sangh remained relatively unchanged, retaining a strong association with the RSS, which did not sit well with the moderate centre-right constituents of the Party. Violence between Hindus and Muslims increased sharply during the years that the Janata Party formed the government, with former Jana Sangha members being implicated in the riots in Aligarh and Jamshedpur in 1978–79. The other major constituents of

4664-417: The Janata Party demanded that the former Jana Sangh members should dissociate themselves from the RSS, which they refused to do. Eventually, a fragment of the Janata Party broke off to form the Janata Party (Secular) . The Morarji Desai government was reduced to a minority in the Parliament, forcing Desai's resignation. Following a brief period of coalition rule, general elections were held in 1980, in which

4770-568: The Janata Party fared poorly, winning only 31 seats. In April 1980, shortly after the elections, the National Executive Council of the Janata Party banned its members from being 'dual members' of party and the RSS. In response, the former Jana Sangh members left to create a new political party, known as the Bharatiya Janata Party. Although the newly formed BJP was technically distinct from the Jana Sangh,

4876-491: The Lok Sabha elections of the 1990s, the battle was more of a head-to-head contest in the sense that there was no viable third front alternative. Largely the contest was between BJP and its allies on one hand and Congress and its allies on the other. The situation did, however, show large regional differences. The BJP fought the elections as part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), although some of its seat-sharing agreements were made with strong regional parties outside of

4982-472: The NDA and the market surged, only to crash the following day when the left parties, whose support would be required for government formation, announced that it was their intention to do away with the disinvestment ministry. Following this, Manmohan Singh , the Prime Minister (in office 2004–14) and the prime architect of the economic liberalisation of the early 1990s, hurried to reassure investors that

5088-588: The NDA such as Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu . Ahead of the elections there were attempts to form a Congress-led national level joint opposition front. In the end, an agreement could not be reached, but on regional level alliances between Congress and regional parties were made in several states. This was the first time that Congress contested with that type of alliances in

5194-515: The Rajya Sabha and Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha for the following 5 years. It lost the Karnataka assembly election in 2013. In the 2014 Indian general election , the BJP won 282 seats, leading the NDA to a tally of 336 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha. Narendra Modi was sworn in as the 14th prime minister of India on 26 May 2014. The vote share of the BJP was 31% of all votes cast,

5300-521: The VHP, and many BJP leaders, including Advani were arrested for making inflammatory speeches provoking the demolition. Several historians have said that the demolition was the product of a conspiracy by the Sangh Parivar, and not a spontaneous act. In the parliamentary elections in 1996, the BJP capitalised on the communal polarisation that followed the demolition to win 161 Lok Sabha seats, making it

5406-535: The alliance governs 17 Indian states and union territories. The official ideology of the BJP is integral humanism , first formulated by Deendayal Upadhyaya in 1965. The party advocates social conservatism and a foreign policy centred on nationalist principles. During its first period in national government, the BJP avoided its Hindu nationalist priorities, and focused on a largely liberal economic policy that prioritised globalisation and economic growth over social welfare . Since returning to government in 2014,

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5512-506: The appeasement of Muslim people and the country of Pakistan by the Congress party and then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru . The RSS loaned several of its leading pracharaks , or full-time workers, to the Jana Sangh to get the new party off the ground. Prominent among these was Deendayal Upadhyaya , who was appointed General Secretary. The Jana Sangh won only three Lok Sabha seats in the first general elections in 1952 . It maintained

5618-487: The armed forces. The average enrolment of voters in each constituency was 1.2 million, although the largest constituency had 3.1 million. The Election Commission of India is responsible for deciding the dates and conducting elections according to constitutional provisions. The Election Commission employed more than a million electronic voting machines for these elections. According to India Today , 115.62 billion rupees were expected to have been spent in campaigning for

5724-432: The bulk of its rank and file were identical to its predecessor, with Vajpayee being its first president. Historian Ramachandra Guha writes that the early 1980s were marked by a wave of violence between Hindus and Muslims. The BJP initially moderated the Hindu nationalist stance of its predecessor the Jana Sangh to gain a wider appeal, emphasising its links to the Janata Party and the ideology of Gandhian socialism . This

5830-545: The coalition ruptured in May 1999 when the leader of AIADMK, J. Jayalalithaa , withdrew her support, and fresh elections were held again. On 13 October 1999, without the AIADMK, the NDA won 303 seats in parliament and thus an outright majority. The BJP had its highest-ever tally of 183. Vajpayee became Prime Minister for the third time; Advani became Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister . This NDA government lasted its full term of five years. Its policy agenda included

5936-412: The country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh , a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. Modi has been described as taking a more economically populist approach on healthcare and agricultural policy. Modi's government has also been described as taking

6042-403: The country, Congress President Sonia Gandhi asked the 22nd Finance Minister Manmohan Singh , an economist, to head the new government. Singh had previously served in the Congress government of Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao in the early 1990s, when he was seen as one of the architects of India's first economic liberalisation plan, which staved off an impending monetary crisis. Despite

6148-592: The demolition. He was accused of posting bureaucrats and police officers who would stay silent during the demolition. In 2020, the Supreme Court of India acquitted all of the accused in the demolition including Advani and Joshi. Following the 2019 Supreme Court verdict , the Government of India announced a trust to construct the Mandir. On 22 January 2024, the Ram Mandir was officially opened. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led its consecration, claiming it to be

6254-730: The differential procedures required to protect the cultural identity of the Muslim minority. The BJP favoured, and in 2019 enacted, the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India , which granted a greater degree of autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir in recognition of the unusual circumstances surrounding its accession to the Indian Union . It simultaneously abrogated Jammu and Kashmir statehood , reorganizing it into two union territories , Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh . The BJP opposes illegal immigration into India from Bangladesh . The party states that this migration, mostly in

6360-468: The economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of

6466-451: The election Though pre-poll predictions were for an overwhelming majority for the BJP, the exit polls (immediately after the elections and before the counting began) predicted a hung parliament . However, even the exit polls could only indicate the general trend and nowhere close to the final figures. There is also the general perception that as soon as the BJP started realising that events might not proceed entirely in its favour, it changed

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6572-521: The elections by all political parties combined. Most of the money was spent on the people involved in the election. The Election Commission limited poll expenses to Rs. 2.5 million per constituency . Thus, the actual spending is expected to have been approximately ten times the limit. About 6.5 billion rupees are estimated to have been spent on mobilising 150,000 vehicles. About a billion rupees are estimated to have been spent on helicopters and aircraft. constituencies In these elections, compared to all

6678-416: The existing distinction between the IES and Provincial Education Service officials began to be dismantled in the early 1920s. There have been multiple proposals to revive the IES even in independent India. Most recently, the Bharatiya Janata Party central government proposed to revive the IES, as per comments in 2016 on its upcoming draft of National Education Policy 2020 . The National Education Policy

6784-523: The fact that Singh had never won a Lok Sabha seat, his considerable goodwill and Sonia Gandhi's nomination won him the support of the UPA allies and the Left Front . Manmohan Singh became the first Sikh and non-Hindu prime minister of India. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had recommended premature dissolution of the 13th Lok Sabha (in accordance with a provision of the Constitution ) to pave

6890-399: The focus of its campaign from India Shining to issues of stability. The Congress, who was regarded as "old-fashioned" by the ruling BJP, was largely backed by poor, rural, lower-caste and minority voters that did not participate in the economic boom of previous years that created a wealthy middle class and thus achieved its overwhelming victory on grounds of wealth inequality . The rout of

6996-417: The founders. The name "Bharatiya Janata Party" literally translates to "Indian People's Party". The Symbol of the party is the flower Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) . Lotus has a cultural significance within India as well as Hinduism . The symbol has been regarded as a symbol of peace and prosperity within Hinduism. Likewise, during the independence movement of India , the symbol was used by Indian nationalist as

7102-403: The history has been widely described as a right-wing party , but has recently been described as far-right or part of the radical right, a subset of the far-right that does not oppose democracy. The official philosophy of the BJP is " Integral humanism ," a philosophy first formulated by Deendayal Upadhyaya in 1965, who described it as advocating an "indigenous economic model that puts

7208-409: The human being at center stage." It is committed to Hindutva , an ideology articulated by Indian independence activist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar . According to the party, Hindutva is cultural nationalism favouring Indian culture over westernisation , thus it extends to all Indians regardless of religion. Scholars and political analysts describe Hindutva as seeking to redefine India and recast it as

7314-750: The larger part of Kashmir which has been the subject of a dispute among India, Pakistan , and China since 1947. Later in 2019, the Modi administration introduced the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 , which was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 by providing a path to Indian citizenship for illegal immigrants of Hindu , Sikh , Buddhist , Jain , Parsi , or Christian religion, who had fled persecution from Pakistan , Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 2014. Muslims from those countries were not given such eligibility. The act

7420-480: The largest party in parliament. Vajpayee was sworn in as Prime Minister but was unable to attain a majority in the Lok Sabha, forcing the government to resign after 13 days. A 2009 report , authored by Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan , found that 68 people were responsible for the demolition, mostly leaders from the BJP. Among those named were Vajpayee, Advani, and Murli Manohar Joshi . The report also criticised Kalyan Singh , Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh during

7526-480: The leader of the Jana Sangh, was appointed the Minister of External Affairs . The national leadership of the former Jana Sangh consciously renounced its identity, and attempted to integrate with the political culture of the Janata Party, based on Gandhian and Hindu traditionalist principles. Political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot wrote that this proved to be impossible assimilation. The state and local levels of

7632-399: The mosque. Three days of fighting with the paramilitary forces ended with the deaths of several kar sevaks . Hindus were urged by VHP to "take revenge" for these deaths, resulting in riots against Muslims across Uttar Pradesh. The BJP withdrew its support from the V.P. Singh government, leading to fresh general elections. The BJP further increased its tally to 120 seats, and won a majority in

7738-407: The next ten years, the BJP was the principal opposition party. Narendra Modi, then the chief minister of Gujarat , led the party to a landslide victory in the 2014 general election . Modi has since led the NDA government as Indian prime minister, including being re-elected with a sole majority in the 2019 general election and with a coalition in the 2024 general election . As of December 2023,

7844-417: The party is predominantly saffron with a stripe of green in the left. Within the Saffron part of the flag, the lotus symbol is also integrated. This particular colour scheme used in the flag assists the party to project itself as a secular party. Meanwhile, this also helps the party to maintain a religious undertone for its core electorate and Hindu nationalistic supporter groups . The BJP's origins lie in

7950-509: The party like Lal Krishna Advani , Murli Manohar Joshi , and Jaswant Singh amongst others were allegedly sidelined. In 2016, the BJP joined the International Democratic Union , a grouping of various centre-right and right-wing political parties across the globe. However, as of 2024, the party is no longer a member, the secretary general of the IDU, Tina Mercep, stated that they would welcome full membership of

8056-466: The party of government in Assam. The Modi administration passed a citizenship law in 2019 which provided a pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan , Bangladesh and Pakistan who are Hindus , Sikhs , Buddhists , Jains , Parsis or Christians . The law does not grant such eligibility to Muslims . This was first time religion had been overtly used as

8162-431: The party's poor showing in the assembly elections. These elections were marked by the campaign's emphasis on economic gains. From the last few elections, BJP had realised that its voter base had reached a ceiling and had concentrated on pre-poll rather than post-poll alliances. The foreign origin of Sonia Gandhi also constituted part of the NDA's campaign. Seat share of parties in the election Vote share of parties in

8268-411: The period 1998–2004 introduced significant deregulation and privatisation of government-owned enterprises. It also introduced tariff-reducing measures. These reforms built off of the initial economic liberalisation introduced by the P. V. Narasimha Rao-led Congress government in the early 1990s. India's GDP growth increased substantially during the tenure of the NDA. The 2004 campaign slogan India Shining

8374-413: The philosophy of integral humanism , which formed the official doctrine of the party. Younger leaders, such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani also became involved with the leadership in this period, with Vajpayee succeeding Upadhyaya as president in 1968. The major themes on the party's agenda during this period were legislating a uniform civil code , banning cow slaughter and abolishing

8480-578: The political spectrum, including the Socialist Party , the Congress (O) and the Bharatiya Lok Dal to form the Janata Party, with its main agenda being defeating Indira Gandhi. The Janata Party won a majority in 1977 and formed a government with Morarji Desai as Prime Minister. The former Jana Sangh contributed the largest tally to the Janata Party's parliamentary contingent, with 93 seats or 31% of its strength. Vajpayee , previously

8586-416: The popularity of Modi, and the loss of support for the Congress due to the corruption scandals in its previous term. The BJP was also able to expand its traditionally upper-caste, upper-class support base and received significant support from middle-class and Dalit people, as well as among Other Backward Classes . Its support among Muslims remained low; only 8% of Muslim voters voted for the BJP. The BJP

8692-412: The role of Jawaharlal Nehru , and glorifying that of Modi himself, while also portraying Indian society as harmonious, without conflict or inequity. The BJP supports a uniform civil code , which would apply a common set of personal laws to every citizen regardless of their personal religion, replacing the existing laws which vary by religious community. Historian Yogendra Malik writes that this ignores

8798-413: The ruling parties in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the general elections led to calls for the dissolution of the governments of these states. The stock market ( Bombay Stock Exchange ) fell in the week prior to the announcement of the results due to fears of an unstable coalition. As soon as counting began, however, it became clear that the Congress coalition was headed for a sizeable lead over

8904-561: The slogan " India Shining ", which sought to depict it as responsible for a rapid economic transformation of the country. However, the NDA unexpectedly suffered a heavy defeat, winning only 186 seats in the Lok Sabha , compared to the 222 of the Congress and its allies. Manmohan Singh succeeded Vajpayee as Prime Minister as the head of the United Progressive Alliance . The NDA's failure to reach out to rural Indians

9010-545: The start of a new era. The temple is expected to be fully completed by December 2024. A coalition of regional parties formed the government in 1996, but this grouping was short-lived, and mid-term polls were held in 1998. The BJP contested the elections leading a coalition called the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which contained its existing allies like the Samata Party , the Shiromani Akali Dal ,

9116-441: The states of Assam and West Bengal, threatens the security, economy and stability of the country. Academics have pointed out that the BJP refers to Hindu migrants from Bangladesh as refugees, and reserves the term "illegal" for Muslim migrants. Academic Michael Gillan perceived it as an attempt to use an emotive issue to mobilise Hindu sentiment in a region where the party has not been historically successful. The party later became

9222-451: The textbooks used in Indian schools. Various scholars have stated that this revision, especially in the case of history textbooks, was a covert attempt to " saffronise " Indian history. The NDA government introduced Hindu astrology as a subject in college curricula, despite opposition from several leading scientists. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under the Modi administration. The RSS provided organisational support to

9328-497: The two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress . Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi . The BJP is aligned with right-wing politics and has close ideological and organisational links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a far-right paramilitary organisation . Its policies adhere to Hindutva ,

9434-579: The violence, as were police officers who allegedly directed the rioters and gave them lists of Muslim-owned properties. In April 2009, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate and expedite the Gujarat riots cases. In 2012, Modi was cleared of complicity in the violence by the SIT. BJP MLA Maya Kodnani , who later held a cabinet portfolio in the Modi government,

9540-589: The way for early elections apparently in view of the recent good showing of the BJP in the Assembly elections in four states. The election dates for the parliamentary elections were: Counting began simultaneously on 13 May. Over 370 million of the 675 million eligible citizens voted, with election violence claiming 48 lives, less than half the number killed during the 1999 election. The Indian elections were held in phases in order to maintain law and order. A few states considered sensitive areas required deployment of

9646-432: The world and a record for India). The service sector had also generated a lot of jobs. The party was supposed to have been riding on a wave of the so-called "feel good factor", typified by its promotional campaign " India Shining ". In the past, BJP has largely been seen as a hardline Hindu right wing party with close ties with the hardline organisations the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh & Vishwa Hindu Parishad . Over

9752-462: The years, the party under Vajpayee has slightly distanced itself from hardline policies in order to accommodate a variety of parties within the NDA, like Trinamool Congress (a Congress-breakaway party), breakaway factions of the Janata Dal like JD(U) & BJD , Dravidianist parties like AIADMK and parties largely representing non-Hindus like SAD , a change that was being questioned after

9858-571: Was a four-cornered contest in UP, which didn't really hurt or benefit Congress or BJP significantly. Most analysts believed the NDA would win the elections. This assessment was also supported by opinion polls. The economy had shown steady growth in the last few months and the disinvestment of government owned production units (a continuation of India's liberalisation policies initiated in the early 1990s ) had been on track. The Foreign Exchange Reserves of India stood at more than US$ 100 billion (7th largest in

9964-413: Was adopted in 2020. This article about an organisation in India is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bharatiya Janata Party ( 4013 MLAs & 23 Vacant) ( 403 MLCs & 23 Vacant) The Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP , [bʱaːɾətiːjə dʒənətaː paːɾʈiː] ; lit.   ' Indian People's Party ' ) is a political party in India and one of

10070-570: Was also established and put under the CDS. The historical stance of the BJP towards foreign policy , like the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, was based on an aggressive Hindu nationalism combined with economic protectionism. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh was founded with the explicit aim of reversing the partition of India ; as a result, its official position was that the existence of Pakistan was illegitimate. This antagonism toward Pakistan remains

10176-421: Was also very successful at mobilizing its supporters and raising voter turnout among them. After winning the election, the organisation of the BJP became more centralised with Modi at the helm. People loyal to Modi were rewarded leadership positions across various states within India. Amit Shah , a close confidant of Modi, was appointed as the president of the BJP in 2014. Contextually, many veteran leaders of

10282-735: Was appointed president of the party, and under him it became the political voice of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. In the early 1980s, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) began a campaign for the construction of a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Rama at the disputed site of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya . The mosque had been constructed by the Mughal Emperor Babur in 1527. There is a dispute about whether

10388-465: Was based on the party's belief that the free market would bring prosperity to all sectors of society. After its unexpected defeat, commentators said that it was punished for neglecting the needs of the poor and focusing too much on its corporate allies. This shift in the economic policies of the BJP was also visible in state governments, especially in Gujarat, where the BJP held power for 16 years. Modi's government, in power from 2002 to 2014, followed

10494-477: Was convicted of having orchestrated one of the riots and sentenced to 28 years imprisonment; she was later acquitted by the Gujarat High Court . Scholars such as Paul Brass , Martha Nussbaum and Dipankar Gupta have said that there was a high level of state complicity in the incidents. Vajpayee called for early elections in 2004 , six months ahead of schedule. The NDA's campaign was based on

10600-489: Was elected to succeed Mukherjee; however, he was forced out of power by the RSS activists within the party, and the leadership went instead to Upadhyaya. Upadhyay remained the General Secretary until 1967, and worked to build a committed grassroots organisation in the image of the RSS. The party minimised engagement with the public, focusing instead on building its network of propagandists. Upadhyaya also articulated

10706-841: Was later repealed by the Congress-led UPA government in 2004. The Modi government has conducted several strikes on territory controlled by neighbouring countries on counterterrorism grounds. This included a 2015 Indian counter-insurgency operation in Myanmar against the National Socialist Council of Nagaland , the 2016 Indian Line of Control strike in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and the 2019 Balakot airstrike in Pakistan. It also militarily intervened in defence of Bhutan during

10812-490: Was provided as an explanation for its defeat, as was its divisive policy agenda. In May 2008, the BJP won the state elections in Karnataka . This was the first time that the party won assembly elections in any South Indian state. In the 2009 general elections , its strength in the Lok Sabha was reduced to 116 seats. The election campaign would be the final for Advani as leader. The party would be led by Arun Jaitley in

10918-403: Was seen as an attack upon Hindus, and sparked off massive anti-Muslim violence across the state of Gujarat that lasted several weeks. The death toll estimated was as high as 2000, while 150,000 were displaced. Rape, mutilation, and torture were also widespread. The then-Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and several high-ranking government officials were accused of initiating and condoning

11024-526: Was successful in ousting them from the previously Indian-controlled territory. After the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001, the NDA government passed the Prevention of Terrorism Act . The aim of the act was to improve the government's ability to deal with terrorism. It initially failed to pass in the Rajya Sabha ; therefore, the NDA took the extraordinary step of convening

11130-523: Was the first time religion had been overtly used as a criterion for citizenship under Indian law . A report by the V-Dem Institute described India as experiencing democratic backsliding due to the Modi era . Various other studies and media sources also cite India experiencing democratic backsliding. This is considered the most notable challenge to India's democracy since the authoritarian Emergency years of 1975–77. The party along

11236-434: Was unsuccessful, as it won only two Lok Sabha seats in the elections of 1984 . The assassination of Indira Gandhi a few months earlier resulted in a wave of support for the Congress which won a record tally of 414 seats, contributing to the low number for the BJP. The failure of Vajpayee's moderate strategy led to a shift in the ideology of the party toward a policy of more hardline Hindu nationalism. In 1984, Advani

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