How BJP's rise is changing the entire contours of regional politics

Abstract

The rise of the BJP with a majority of its own in the centre will change the nature of regional politics. Most reginoal parties are caste-based and run by families, just like the Congress. The victory of the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls is likely to pose a major challenge to the Congress way of dealing with regional parties. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Congress encouraged some of them, like the Shiv Sena, to fight the Communists. But most of the regional parties ultimately became unlisted family enterprises (DMK/SP/RJD/NC/SS). Three others came to be run by single women (AIADMK/TMC/BSP). Since the Congress itself is a family-controlled party, it was easier for it to deal with other families through the patronage system. In fact, at one point of time, Indira Gandhi had a deal with the DMK where she allowed the latter to have all the assembly seats in lieu of the Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. That was accommodation par excellence. Read more at: https://www.firstpost.com/politics/how-bjps-rise-is-changing-the-entire-contours-of-regional-politics-1728475.html