The presentation explores the cause and possible consequences of the rise of the BJP as an electoral force in Indian politics. Using the 2014 election as the lens, I shall examine multiple political factors that led to such a dramatic rise of the BJP, that has now become India’s largest political party.

The following questions shall be raised:

• What are the reasons for such an extra-ordinary success of the BJP?
• Is it owing to Hindutva ideology? Or are there other factors?
• What does it signify for the Congress and the left parties?
• What is its implication for religious minorities and Indian democracy?
• Is India heading toward a Hindu Rashtra?

In my attempt to answer the above set of questions, I shall comment on the Modi wave and the non-Modi wave. I shall also comment on its implications for India’s secularism and the future of the multicultural foundation of Indian democracy.

Dr. Mujibur Rehman teaches at Jamia Millia Central University, New Delhi. He is editor of Rise of Saffron Power: Reflections on Indian Politics (Routledge, New Delhi, forthcoming). He is also editor of Communalism in Postcolonial India: Changing Contours (Routledge, New Delhi, 2016). The paperback edition of the Communalism volume will be out soon with a foreword by Romila Thapar.

Dr. Rehman received his graduate training at the University of Texas, Austin, USA, the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi. He also writes Op-Eds and reviews in major Indian newspapers, The Hindu and The Hindustan Times. He is currently working on a book on Indian Muslims.