ABSTRACT
This chapter critically assesses claims that India has entered a new party system after the 2014 general elections, marked by renationalisation with the BJP as the new ‘dominant’ party. Based on electoral data alone, we examine the electoral rise of the BJP since the 2014 general elections. We illustrate and explain the rise of the BJP in the Hindi heartland and in areas beyond its traditional catchment area. We show that this rise has become less territorially uneven in time and that, in the 2019 general elections, BJP success came at the expense not just of Congress’ and regional party support but also of that of regionalist parties.
