Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party is one of two major political parties in India, along with the Indian National Congress. It is the ruling party of the Republic of India since 2014 and the largest political party in the world by primary membership.
Ideology
History
The BJP traces its roots to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, founded in 1951 by Syama Prasad Mukherjee. After the Janata Party experiment of 1977-79 collapsed, former Jana Sangh members regrouped to form the BJP in 1980. The party first came to national power briefly in 1996, then again from 1998 to 2004 under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It returned to power in 2014 under Narendra Modi with the first single-party majority in 30 years, and was re-elected in 2019 and 2024 (leading the NDA coalition).
Political positions
The party is associated with Hindu nationalism, a strong central state, economic liberalisation with welfare delivery (Jan Dhan, PM-Kisan, Ayushman Bharat), and assertive national security policy. It champions construction of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir, and the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Notable leaders
- • Narendra Modi
- • Amit Shah
- • Rajnath Singh
- • Nitin Gadkari
- • J. P. Nadda
- • Yogi Adityanath
- • Devendra Fadnavis
Notable controversies & cases
- 01Allegations around the conduct of demonetisation (2016) and its economic impact.
- 02Criticism over the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act and proposed NRC.
- 03Electoral bonds scheme — the Supreme Court struck it down in 2024 as unconstitutional.
- 04Concerns raised by press-freedom groups about the use of central agencies against opposition leaders and journalists.
Sources & references
Content on this page is compiled from publicly available sources for civic awareness. If you believe anything here is inaccurate, please contact us and we will review.