Phenomenal rise of the right wing in country’s political landscape

The month of March this year will not only be remembered for its rising temperature but also the churn it has brought about in India’s politics. The results of five state assembly elections were declared. Uttar Pradesh had been swept by the saffron tsunami. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies won 324 of the 403 seats in the assembly. The result was a disappointment for the Left which probably hoped that demonetization would negatively impact Prime Minister Modi and the BJP’s political graph. 

To add to the burn, the BJP declared Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Yogi Adityanath is known for making controversial speeches and has sworn that he will turn India into a Hindu Rashtra. This gave the Opposition enough ammunition to fire on the first day itself. But if one digs deeper the appointment of Yogi Adityanath may not be such a surprise.

India is a country where every year some important election takes place. This system has its positives as well as its negatives. One positive result is that the mood of the nation is always known and there is never a particular time when poll pundits don’t have enough data to analyse. Even with such a dynamic political structure the first four decades of Indian politics after independence was dominated by the Indian National Congress (INC), with the exception of few years after the emergency in 1977. 

The right wing and the BJP emerged as a national alternative only in the 1990s. To understand the current political atmosphere which is dominated by the BJP we must understand the origins of the party. 

In the early days, the BJP’s agenda was primarily to advance the rights of the Hindu community and propagate the ideology of Hindutva. The party gained significant support during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. But the support didn’t last long. After the rule of Atal Bihari Vajpayee one can say that there has been an attempt to give the right wing in India a different perception. The BJP in the 2014 elections made no noise about the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya or the removal of Hajj subsidy, instead it focused on economic development. 

The mix of development and Hindutva has helped the right wing immensely. The appointment of Yogi Adityanath in my opinion is just another step in mainstreaming the idea of Hindutva.

Another crucial factor that has worked in favour of the right wing is that they have successfully managed to tap into the minds of the young electorate. One can say without any doubt today that a 66-year-old Narendra Modi is favoured over the 46-year-old Rahul Gandhi. Modi is veiwed as the man who can get things done and change the corrupt and lethargic ways in which the government works.

(The writer is a Class 11 student at Bombay Scottish School, Mumbai, who loves to read, eat, breathe and talk politics)