Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
The overlooked populist radical right party
This article situates the largest political party in the world, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India, within
the literature on the populist radical right. After providing a brief overview of Hindutva ideology and organizations, with a
particular focus on the BJP, it analyzes how nativism, populism, and authoritarianism are key defining elements in both
theory and practice for the BJP. It further examines two important ideological tenets that
go beyond these three defining attributes of the (European) populist radical right – anti-colonialism and neoliberalism – which
lend towards the success of the BJP. Since holding a majority in national government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP
has been able to implement its vision of creating a Hindustan, or Hindu ethnostate. Like other populist radical right parties in
power, the BJP is more radical in deeds than in words, but the future of the party without Modi’s leadership is uncertain.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.A short history of Hindutva
- 3.The Bharatiya Janata Party
- 4.The BJP in Theory versus Practice
- 4.1Nativism
- 4.2Populism
- 4.3Authoritarianism
- 5.Conclusion
- Note
-
References
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