Bharatiya Janata Party abbreviated, and popularly known as BJP has taken its birth 45 year ago on April 6, 1980 and its predecessor is Bharatiya Jana Sangh- BJS. The founders of BJP are late A.B.Vajpayee, L.K Advani and few other leaders. It is a right wing political party committed to the philosophy of Hindutva and is called saffron party & IS famous for its ideology of cultural nationalism. It is distinguished from other political parties as it does not believe in pseudo secularism, minority appeasement and it believes in justice for all and appeasement to none. It spilt from Janata party. Its headquarters are located at 6 - A Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg New Delhi, India. BJP is the largest political party of not only in India, but is the largest political party of the world. Its membership is in crores and it is running the central government in India as a coalition called NDA or national democratic alliance and it is in office from 1914. BJP along with its allies have won the national elections thrice, first in 2014,second in 2019 and thirdly in 2024. BJP is an ideological based political party and it is a cadre based and disciplined party.BJP has a checkered successful history of trails and tribulations of more than a half century at its back. The freedom movement of India was polluted by the idea of two nation theory. Due to the appeasement , communal separatism and lack of proper vision of nationalism then leaders accepted the partition of the country on the basis of religion. Due to the strong opposition of the partition ,the congress government under the false allegation of the Mahamata Ghandi Jis murder banned the RSS .Dr.Shyama Prasad Mukerjee strongly agitated against giving the whole Bengal to Pakistan. Consequently Pakistan could get only half of Bengal. On the advice of Gandhi, Dr. Mukerjee was included in the central cabinet, but due to India’s subdued policy towards Pakistan and being against the Nehru-Liaqut Pact expressing indifference to the security of Hindus in Pakistan, Dr.Mukerjee resigned from the cabinet. These two contexts gave birth to Jana Sangh –the earlier incarnation of the BJP. Dr Mukerjee met the second RSS Sarsanghchalack Shri Guruji and the process of forming the Jana Sangh started. Having been started in 1951, the process was completed on October 21, 1951, with the formation of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh under the presidentship of DR.Shyama Prasad Mukerjee. The rectangular saffron flag was accepted as its flag and Deepak inscribed on it was accepted as the election symbol. In the same inaugural session the manifesto for the first general election was also approved. In its first general election ,the Jana Sangh got 3.06 per cent votes and three MP’s ,including Dr.Mukerjee were elected. Jana Sangh got the status of a national party in the parliament .National Democratic Front was formed under the leadership of Dr.Mukerjee and he was the first informal leader of the Opposition of the country. On May 29,1952 ,Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly accepted the proposal of joining the Indian Federation and on July 24 Nehru –Abdullah Agreement was signed. It was a conspiracy to create a controversy and separate state of Jammu and Kashmir which had already merged with India. Under this ,arrangements for separate constitution ,separate prime minister and separate flags were made for the state. Praja Parished strongly agitated against this and BJS supported it .In parliament Dr Mukerjee delivered a strong speech against it. Agitation became intense in Jammu and Kashmir. In March 1953 ,a Satyagraha was started in Delhi with the demand for complete integration of J&K .On May 11,Dr Mukerjee entered J&K without a permit under Satyagraha ,he was arrested and taken to Srinagar .To enter Jammu and Kashmir ,over 10,750 Satyagrahis participated in the agitation from all over India. On June 23 ,Dr.Mukerjee attained martyrdom and Satyagrahis were withheld.BJP emerged out from ‘Syama Prasad Mukerjee’s Bharatiya Jana sangh. Since 2014 ,it has been the ruling party of the country under the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi .The BJP is aligned with right wing politics and has close ideological and organizational links with RSS –a far right social and cultural organization. BJP’s policies adhere to Hindutva ,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. As already pointed out BJP’s origins lie in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh ,which was founded in 1951 by Indian politician Syama Prasad Mukerjee ,after he left Hindu Mahasabha to form a party as the political wing of RSS. After the emergency of 1975-1977,the Jana Sangh merged with several other political parties to form the Janata Party ,it defeated then incumbent Indian National Congress in the 1977 general elections. 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 the 1984 general elections ,it grew in strength on the back of the movement around Ram Janmambhoomi in Uttar Pradesh. Following victories in several state elections and better performance 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 only 13 days .After the 1998 general election, the BJP-led coalition known as the National Democratic Alliance-NDA under the 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 to do so. In 2004 general election, the NDA suffered an unexpected defeat and for 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 in the 2019 general election and with a coalition in the 2024 general election. As of December 2023,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 centered on nationalistic principles. During its first stint in national government ,the BJP avoided its Hindu nationalist priorities ,and focused on a largely liberal economic policy that prioritized globalization and economic growth over social welfare. Since returning to government in 2014 ,the BJP government has enacted several priorities of the RSS ,including criminalizing the practice of triple talaq ,and revoking Article 370 of the constitution of India and abrogated J &K’s statehood .The party has frequently spread disinformation and is being condemned by foreign entities for spreading conspiracy theories. India has experienced nationwide democratic backsliding under the BJP’s rule since 2014.There is little doubt that the Hindu nationalist BJP ,which has ruled India uninterruptedly since 2014 ,has become the country’s dominant party. Led by Prime minister Narendra Modi, it has won three general elections decisively and despite losing states, steadfastly expanded its pan –Indian footprint. The BJP’s electoral success is largely attributed to Modi’s charisma and the politics of religious polarization and strident nationalism. The BJP aims at uniting Hindus, who comprise more than 80% of Indians ,and make them vote as one. That is why it downplays caste –which has traditionally divided Hindus and their political allegiances.
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