Divide and Rule in Indian Party Politics: The Rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party

Abstract

From the highly fragmented Parliament produced by India's 12th general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led a heterogeneous coalition of smaller political parties to form a minority government. Gradually but persistently moving out from the wings of Indian politics, the BJP has proven itself capable of sustained competition with the once-dominant Congress Party (INC). The outcome of the 1998 general elections-in which the BJP became the only party to claim more seats than the INC twice in succession-confirms its existence as a major political party in the Indian system. 1 Its rise is significant not only because it definitively signals the end of the Congress system but also because of the Hindu nationalist character of the party itself. While secularism is an ideological hallmark of the Indian state, Hindu nationalism is not a new force in Indian politics: the political assertion of the belief that India is a fundamentally Hindu nation, the central tenet of Hindu nationalism, has its origins in the 19th century. But never before has a party espousing such an ideology matched the BJP's current level of popular support. How and why has the BJP moved from the political fringe into the center? And why are its politics of Hindu nationalism-overtly or insidiously expressed-so salient now? Beyond an exploration of the BJP as a party, the present analysis will examine the impact of the BJP's growth on the Indian party system and Indian