Bharatiya Janata Party: Right On Top
FRONTLINE|March 31, 2017

The Narendra Modi-led Indian Right’s march continues with major victories in the latest Assembly elections, presenting a host of challenges before other players in national politics.

Venkitesh Ramakrishnan
Bharatiya Janata Party: Right On Top

“This will usher in a change in India's polity.” This was how Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah prefaced his interaction with the media even as the results were being declared for the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur and they signified major gains for the BJP in three of these States. Shah, who is referred to as “action man” in the echelons of the BJP, is not really known to be a political theorist. So, he did not elaborate on the “change” that was being “ushered in” or its characteristics and import. However, he said “this is a win for the people, for their determination” and “a win for [Prime Minister] Modiji’s leadership” and “a win for the hard work and efforts of our party workers”.

Obviously, the reference was to the phenomenal triumph the ruling party at the Centre registered in Uttar Pradesh, the most populous State in the country, crushing all political adversaries, and the remarkable victory in the hill State of Uttarakhand. Shah did refer also to the defeat suffered by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP alliance in Punjab but went on to claim that the performance there too was creditable. Then he contended that the BJP would form governments in Manipur and Goa, too, though the elections had thrown up hung Assemblies in both States and the BJP was not the single largest party in either of them. Shah did not explain whether these results cumulatively were bringing in the change in the polity or whether some aspects were pushing it or whether there were other ingrained dimensions that denoted the change.

CHANGE AND CONSTANCY

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 31, 2017 من FRONTLINE.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 31, 2017 من FRONTLINE.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من FRONTLINE مشاهدة الكل
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
FRONTLINE

How Not To Handle An Epidemic

The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.

time-read
9 mins  |
June 5, 2020
Tragedy on foot
FRONTLINE

Tragedy on foot

As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.

time-read
10+ mins  |
June 5, 2020
Sarpanchs as game changers
FRONTLINE

Sarpanchs as game changers

Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

time-read
7 mins  |
June 5, 2020
Scapegoating China
FRONTLINE

Scapegoating China

As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.

time-read
10 mins  |
June 5, 2020
New worries
FRONTLINE

New worries

Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.

time-read
9 mins  |
June 5, 2020
FRONTLINE

No love lost for labour

Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.

time-read
8 mins  |
June 5, 2020
Capital's Malthusian moment
FRONTLINE

Capital's Malthusian moment

In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .

time-read
10+ mins  |
June 5, 2020
Understanding migration
FRONTLINE

Understanding migration

When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.

time-read
10 mins  |
June 5, 2020
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
FRONTLINE

Waiting for Jabalpur moment

The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.

time-read
10+ mins  |
June 5, 2020
An empty package
FRONTLINE

An empty package

The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.

time-read
10+ mins  |
June 5, 2020