A Rightward Shift

The results of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections reflect a clear rightward shift in Indian politics. The misrule of the Congress-led government at the centre, which has presided over the most corrupt and anti-people regime in the post-Independence period, had led to popular anger across the country. It is this revulsion against the Congress which has led to its historic debacle and a landslide victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The Indian corporates joined hands with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-BJP to launch an aggressive campaign under Narendra Modi’s leadership. For the secular, progressive and democratic forces, the times ahead are going to be challenging.

TheBJP has been successful in projecting itself as the only viable alter­native to the Congress at the centre. In the absence of any credible non-Congress, non-BJP alternative at the national level, popular vote has swung in favour of theBJP. It is noteworthy that the only non-NDA parties which could perform well in these elections – All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Trinamool Congress and Biju Janata Dal – had adopted a clear line of equidistance from the Congress and theBJP. Those even perceived to be close to the Congress have been punished. The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, which had provided outside support to the Congress-led government at the centre, have also fared poorly.