The 2019 Parliamentary Elections in India

This book presents a comprehensive overview of India's electoral democracy and political system. It provides an in-depth analysis of the 2019 parliamentary elections to explore three crucial facts of India's political life: the legitimacy of political competition as the only basis of power; elections as the only legitimate basis of political competition; and political parties as the only legitimate agency to conduct political competition. The book argues that the vitality and resilience of India's electoral democracy remain high owing to large mass participation in elections that are competitive and relatively free and fair. The volume includes key theoretical, empirical, and comparative perspectives on parties and elections from experts, and covers all major political parties of India, along with the performance of many representative regional parties. It discusses themes such as elections and party competition in India; ideology, interest, religion, and gender as they affect social mobilisation and political transaction; economic and politial change, and multiparty democracy; the dynamics of the Muslim vote; fluctuating electoral fortunes; and electoral campaigns and role of social media. This book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of political science, political sociology, election studies, Indian politics, South Asian politics, and South Asian studies. It will also interest those in politics, public policy and governance, civil society organisations, media and journalism, and the general reader.

Subrata K. Mitra is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Heidelberg University, Germany. Rekha Saxena is Professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Delhi, India. Pampa Mukherjee is Professor of Political Science at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India.

Part I: Introduction 1. Elections, Parties and Democratic Deepening in Transitional Societies: India's Parliamentary Elections of 2019 and Their Aftermath 2. Party Competition, the Electoral Process and Political Transaction: The Deepening of Democracy in India Part II: Elections and Parties in India: A Macro-Political View 3. The Party System in India: Ideological Spectrum and Structure of Competition 4. Critical Realignment and Democratic Deepening: The Parliamentary Elections of 2014 and 2019 In India 5. The 17th Lok Sabha Elections and the Dismal Performance of Indian National Congress: In 'Recuperating' Hibernation or Terminal Decline? 6. Party Politics in India since the 2014 General Elections: BJP Dominance and the Making of the Fourth Party System Part III: View from India's Regions 7. The Decline of the Left in West Bengal: A Strange Identity Turn, and Bengali Exceptionalism 8. Leadership, Welfare, and Fluctuating Electoral Fortunes: A Diachronic Analysis of Two Elections in Delhi, 2019 and 2020 9. The Electoral Politics and Regional Dynamics of a Hill State: The Lok Sabha Elections of 2019 in Uttarakhand in Retrospect 10. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the 2019 Elections in Odisha: Towards a Political Alternative Part IV: The Electoral Process and Indian Society 11. An Appraisal of Women's Rights Discourse in Election Manifestoes of Bharatiya Janata Party 12. Does the Muslim Vote Matter? The Parliamentary Elections of 2019 and its Aftermath 13. Continuity and Change in Electoral Campaigns, Media and Competing Issues: Parliamentary Elections of 2014 and 2019 14. The BJP's Electioneering Strategy and Use of Social Media in 2019: Creating a New Public? Part V: Epilogue 15. Beyond the Parliamentary Elections of 2019: India's Middle Democracy Trap