Indian Politics & Policy Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2020 | Page 12

Indian Politics & Policy
5 The BJP is a right-wing political party, established in 1984 as the political wing of a pro-Hindu
group. The party enjoyed social support among the higher castes in northern states of India.
Later, the BJP attempted to attract a lower caste and inducted several Dalits and backward
caste leaders in the party and appointed them to prominent positions. The party ran in the
1984 Lok Sabha election and won only two seats with 7.74 percent of the votes. Afterward, in
the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP gained huge support from all castes and communities
and won 282 seats with 31.34 percent of the votes.
6 Congress was formed in 1885 during the freedom movement. The party is truly secular and
generally considered to left-liberal in Indian politics. After independence, the Congress Party
sustained one-party dominance in India until the 1967 election to the state assemblies. Afterward,
the party declined in several states and was defeated by huge margins in several places,
including the northern states of India. In the most recent Lok Sabha election, the Congress
Party won only fifty-two seats with 19.49 percent of the votes.
7 There are six north Indian states, namely UP, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal
Pradesh, and Delhi.
8 The Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY Scheme) is a Congress scheme described in its 2019 election
manifesto to guarantee a minimum income to five crore of the poorest families.
8