ABSTRACT
The 2014 election saw a bold articulation of liberalization policy in the name of development by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A clear pro-business line of the BJP appealed to a large section of voters who saw it as an alternative to the apologetic welfare policies coupled with crony capitalism and mal-governance that India saw during the United Progressive Alliance government. The electoral volatility in 2014 crossed 20 per cent, which is considered to be high and akin to the political situation that we saw during the 1980s and 1990s, indicating huge shifts that took place in party preferences among the voters. Any analysis of the electoral success of the BJP in 2014 must also take into account the internal transformation the party went through and, thus, in the process, managed to win over large sections of Hindu voters. The result of the 2014 Lok Sabha election will be remembered for a long time for several reasons.
