Change and continuity in Indian politics and the Indian party system

Abstract

The 2014 Indian general election was notable due to a single party – the Bharatiya Janata Party – winning a majority of seats in Lok Sabha for the first time since 1984. The Congress, the other main national party, suffered its worst ever defeat. This election was viewed by some as signalling the advent of a phase of a BIP-dominated party system in India. In this article, I revisit the results of this election, and of the subsequent state assembly elections, to analyse if they signal a substantial change in the political landscape and party system in India. I argue that although the Congress decline has continued, and the BJP has won many recent state assembly elections, it is premature to conclude that the Indian party system has shifted to a BJP-dominated one. Further, given India’s first-past-the-post electoral system and a diffused political environment, where state and regional parties continue to be strong in many parts of the country, achieving a legislative majority remains a difficult proposition for a single party.