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Bharatiya Janata Party

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; "Indian People's Party") is one of the largest political parties in India. In the 12th Lok Sabha (1999-2004) it was the single largest party with 179 (out of 545) members. It is the successor party of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS; "Indian Peoples Alliance", often referred to as just the Jan Sangh), which merged itself into the Janata Party in 1977. The BJP was formed as a separate party in 1980 after internal differences in the Janata Party resulted in the collapse of its government in 1979.

Founder (of BJS): Syama Prasad Mookerjee (1901-1953)

The logo of BJP


Presidents:

It is the dominant component of the National Democratic Alliance. As the largest party in opposition former party president and Deputy Prime Minister in the previous government Lal Krishna Advani is the leader of the opposition in the 13th Lok Sabha. The party has close ties to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) organization.

The BJP considers itself to be a secular party and defines Hindutva not in terms of religion but as Indian-ness. According to the party this is in consonance with the root meaning of the word Hindu .

In 2002, Abdul Kalam, architect of the Indian nuclear programme, was nominated by the BJP, being a Muslim to become President of India and he won the subsequent elections for the post. While BJP supporters saw this nomination as an example of BJP's Multi-religious organization. Critics of BJP saw it as a ploy to offset the negative impact of recent riots in Gujarat. There are other prominent leaders such as Mukthar Abbas Naqvi , a Muslim.

Following the 2004 elections, NDA (the BJP-led governing coalition) was confronted with its failure to secure sufficient seats to form a government. There were significant setbacks in rural states, but the BJP also had major reversals in key urban centres including Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi and Chennai. This electoral shock was due to its perceived inability to extend the benefits of strong economic growth to a broader range of the populace. Disaffection was particularly evident amongst the rural electorate, suffering under the pressures of drought, a dearth of infrastructure investment, and relative impoverishment. The mantle of power has thus passed to the alliance headed by the United Progressive Alliance.

External link

  • Official site http://bjp.org



Last updated: 02-11-2005 00:03:25
Last updated: 04-25-2005 03:06:01