Explained: Lok Sabha blip is past, BJP back in business

Indian Express

4 hours ago

The 2024 general elections saw the BJP fall short of a majority in Lok Sabha with its tally dropping from 303 to 240 seats. For the first time since 2014, the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to rely on coalition partners to be in government.
A year later, 2024's electoral setback appears to have been but a minor bump in the road for the Modi juggernaut. While continuing to bank on its nationalist credentials and image as a strong, uncompromising government, Modi 3.0 has taken policy stances that the opposition has struggled to counter. Here's a recap.
A quick rebound
In the past year, the BJP has secured clear majorities in state Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi, cementing its status as the most dominant political force in the country, the 2024 blip notwithstanding.
In Haryana, where it had won just five out of 10 Lok Sabha seats in June 2024, the BJP bounced back in October, winning 48 seats in the 90-seat Assembly. Then in November, the BJP on its own won 132 seats in the 288-seat Maharashtra Assembly, with its Mahayuti alliance winning a whopping 235 seats.
In February this year, the BJP returned to power in the national capital for the first time in 27 years, winning 48 seats in the 70-seat Assembly and ending a decade of AAP rule in Delhi.
While the BJP did not win the Assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir, it was dominant in Jammu, winning 29 seats to Congress' six. The National Conference came to power after winning 42 seats.
In fact the only significant Assembly polls setback for the BJP was in Jharkhand last October. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha won 31 of the 81 seats, and returned to government in alliance with the Congress, which won 16 seats. The BJP secured 21 seats.
Winning narrative war
The BJP's successes over the past year come on the back of its ability to keep tight control of the political narrative, and repeatedly push the opposition into uncomfortable corners.
The best example for this is Operation Sindoor, on whose back the BJP now rides a wave of nationalism across the country. Military successes aside, the Modi government has leveraged the operation to push the opposition, especially Congress, on the backfoot.
Like in times past, the Congress has struggled to find an apt political idiom to counter the government on national security matters. Its recent attacks have focussed on the government allegedly capitulating to international pressure while agreeing to a ceasefire.
But this flies in the face of the overwhelming national consensus, which views Op Sindoor as a resounding success that has established a new normal in India's response to terrorism. Several opposition leaders — including Shashi Tharoor and Salman Khurshid of the Congress, K Kanimozhi of the DMK, and Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM — too have echoed this position, and been a part of all-party delegations sent abroad to explain and defend the government's actions.
That the Congress has repeatedly thrown jibes at Tharoor for his eloquent defence of Op Sindoor shows how confused the party is, a stark contrast to the BJP with its clear, resonant messaging.
Strong but deft
After 2024 elections, there was a perception that Modi 3.0 would be shakier than the previous two governments. The government's actions thus far prove that that is far from the case.
Most notably, Modi 3.0 has continued to address its core ideological projects, much like it had done in its first and second term.
In April, Parliament passed the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. Much like the 2019 law banning triple talaq, the Waqf Act is borne out of the BJP's long-stated desire to bring transparency and a sense of justice in matters pertaining to the Muslim community. The law is currently under challenge in the Supreme Court.
The first year of Modi 3.0 also saw progress on the Prime Minister's pet idea of instituting simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, with the introduction of two crucial Bills.
Moreover, the government has been deft in its political manoeuvring. By unexpectedly deciding to enumerate caste in the next census, the government has turned the tables on the Congress and Rahul Gandhi who have invested a lot of political capital on the matter for close to two years.
Effectively co-opting Congress' caste plank, the BJP has accused past Congress governments of not allowing a caste census, 'insulting' Dr B R Ambedkar, and putting the Mandal Commission report on OBC quotas on the backburner in the 1980s.
As the Modi 3.0 turns one, there is every indication that the Prime Minister is well and truly in charge of a strong government, and like in his two previous terms, the Congress is yet to get its act together.
Vikas Pathak is deputy associate editor with The Indian Express and writes on national politics. He has over 17 years of experience, and has worked earlier with The Hindustan Times and The Hindu, among other publications. He has covered the national BJP, some key central ministries and Parliament for years, and has covered the 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and many state assembly polls. He has interviewed many Union ministers and Chief Ministers.
Vikas has taught as a full-time faculty member at Asian College of Journalism, Chennai; Symbiosis International University, Pune; Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai; and as a guest professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.
Vikas has authored a book, Contesting Nationalisms: Hinduism, Secularism and Untouchability in Colonial Punjab (Primus, 2018), which has been widely reviewed by top academic journals and leading newspapers.
He did his PhD, M Phil and MA from JNU, New Delhi, was Student of the Year (2005-06) at ACJ and gold medalist from University Rajasthan College in Jaipur in graduation. He has been invited to top academic institutions like JNU, St Stephen's College, Delhi, and IIT Delhi as a guest speaker/panellist. ... Read More