The Modilahar(wave) in the 2014 Indian national election

A critical realignment

Bibliographic Data

ID6235230
AuthorsPriya Chacko (0000-0002-4636-1683, The University of Adelaide), Peter Mayer (0000-0002-6267-4874, The University of Adelaide)
Year2014
Volume49
Issue3
Pages518-528
Publication date2014-07-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAustralian Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1036-1146 • E-ISSN: 1363-030X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10361146.2014.937392
OpenAlexW2097184379
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited8

In India ’ s 2014 general election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured an outright majority of seats, the fi rst time any party has done so since 1984. This has led to claims that this is a ‘ critical ’ or ‘ realigning ’ election. Yet, most Indian elections are initially described as ‘ critical ’ elections, which suggests that this concept needs to be further re fi ned to be analytically useful in India ’ s electorally volatile and regionalised political context. This commentary conceptualises critical elections in India as those that enable the winning party to build lasting regional social coalitions. Such coalitions need to be consolidated in subsequent elections for a\nrealignment to take place. A mastery of regional politics was crucial to the BJP ’ s 2014 win, which does mark this as a potentially realigning election. Yet, questions remain about its ability to consolidate the coalitions that delivered this result

Context (archaeology · General election · Geography · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Realigning election · Sociology · Law · Public Administration · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub