The Tale of Indian Opposition : Pre-2014 v Post-2014

ABSTRACT

“Man is a political animal”- Aristotle. Though this statement dates back to ancient times it has its significance even today. In this complex world, politics is one of the most debated topics not only in parliament but also in schools, colleges, business hours, and so on. India is the mother of democracy and robust opposition is essential for healthy democracy. The party in opposition plays an important role in scrutinizing and aiding in making policy decisions. India has seen the government of both the oldest party the Indian National Congress as well as the current largest party of India, the Bharatiya Janata Party in opposition. This paper will observe the parties in opposition from a spectrum of pre-2014 v post-14 era. It will study how ideological positions, caste dynamics, appeasement politics, regional politics, and other elements have rendered the party in power and opposition.

INTRODUCTION

The Indian National Congress (INC) has been the central pole in national politics till 1989. Its hegemony ended around 1989 with the growing opposition at the state level which denoted the beginning of coalition politics in India. The number of parties contesting also increased wherein various individuals created new parties with abandon, expecting that earning a few seats or even a solid vote share would accord them clout in the coalition. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) soon emerged as the only other strong national party to give the INC a serious fight across multiple seats. However, it also faced demography, geography, and ideology limitations. With the BJP’s breakthrough in 2014, there was discourse about the possibility that India was going past the multipolarity, fragmentation, and coalition era and closer to a new, dominant-party system where the BJP replaced INC as the central pole. In 2019, the BJP clinched a second consecutive majority, a maneuver the INC last accomplished in 1980 and 1984. The BJP’s victory in the third term in power in the 2024 elections with 240 seats even after the anti-incumbency effect significantly remarks a rare occasion in Indian political history and supports this contention.

The post-2014, therefore, marks a new era where BJP became the first party to increase its political stature from INC and it redefined how the elections could be fought henceforward. 

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