Bharatiya Janata Party: Past, Present and Future: Story of the World’s Largest Political Party

by Shantanu Gupta

On 29th March, 2015, at BJP’s old Office at 11, Ashoka road, a digital counter was ticking. Party workers, Office Bearers and even Staff, all were staring at the digital screen. The screen was showing the total number of party members enrolled through the Party’s new ‘sadasyata Abhiyan’ (membership drive). the Party’s National President Amit Shah was in Office that day. With a childlike eagerness in his eyes, he too was looking at the digital counter. As soon as the counter hit the target, the whole Office erupted in euphoria. It reached 8.8 crore members, surpassing the Communist party of China. The ambitious membership drive was Shah's idea. Next day every leading newspaper reported it bold and clear—bjp becomes the largest political party in the world. How did this happen? Was it merely a numerical exercise which boosted Bharatiya Janata Party’s fortunes or was it the case of an idea whose time had come? From a mere two seats in the Lok Sabha in 1984 to now having decimated the opposition, can this juggernaut be attributed to only the modi-shah duo or the reasons run deep into the complexity of the highly misunderstood Hindutva movement? To answer these questions, Shantanu Gupta travels back into the history of the right-wing movements in India, from their ideological origins to the evolution of their nationalist idea, bringing together a comprehensive study of not just BJP as a political party but of an ideological entity which defines the nationalist movement in the country like never before.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction

416 pages, Paperback

First published December 5, 2019

Reviews

[S.Ach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhere in the middle, the author writes - "History is always written by the victors" and blames the left-historians to have distorted the history that we have been reading since independence, of being pro-Congress and anti-Hindu and white-washing the atrocities of the Muslim invaders.

I wondered, is history being re-written by the current victors?

Pongalswamy said, "Being corrected….You see.. One should read the right history."

True, I said.

Your history is fact, their history is misinformation.
Your heroes are messiahs, their heroes are evil demons.
Your principles are ideal, and their ideas, of course, propaganda.
Yours are value driven, they have their own agenda.
You are individual thinkers, they are an ecosystem.
After all, you are you, and they are, oh! disgusting, them.

Pongalswamy said, "In short….Right History is right and Left history should be left behind."

[Anirban · Rating 3 out of 5]

What worked for me :
1. No holds barred, unapologetic approach in writing the book.
2. A detailed discussion on the historical and the ideological background of the BJP.
3. An easy to follow writing style.

What didn't work for me :
1. Too much focus on Narendra Modi(sadly a state of affairs reflecting in the BJP too). Very little mention of other important players.
2. The book should also have had, IMO, more information and insight on the leaders who were equally instrumental alongside Vajpayee and Advani in building up the party.

[Arunayan Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The largest Political Party of the World of India named as BJP is seriously first time jotted down with references in this book. Even if you are not a political buff, you should read it to know changes of Indian politics through the year.

[Bhuvanesh Kandasamy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book gives good insights on the fundamental ideology of the BJP from its RSS days and how it had evolved over the decades. I felt the author could have used more neutral language at the last section on Modi's term as it involved downgrading the opposition while exaggerating it's accomplishments.

[Mahe · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are willing to disregard the author's clear political and ideological tilt and his deifying of Modi towards the end this book will be a great, quick read to get to know of the history of the BJP and its precursor/parent organisations.

[Kamlesh Gandhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly written well researched and factual. Author has delved into the history with events which were instrumental in the growth of the largest political in the world. The narration too was brilliant in the audiobook.

[Prahalathan KK · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the middle of the book the Author acknowledges that he has spent half the book before even the BJP started. This part was the most enlightening.

Towards the end there is even a chapter on Modi Government's achievements and less about the party. The book ends with the 2019 general election win.