India 2014: Return of the One-Party Dominant System

The current elections, which gave to the BJP a majority in Parliament, have brought back the one-party dominant system that was once used to describe the hegemony of the Congress party, and the lack of an opposition. The "new" one-party dominant system is however dramatically different from the original one. The BJP unlike the Congress is a cadre based party and subscribes to a distinct ideology. It is also headed by the powerful figure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose image looms larger than the party and his colleagues. India will witness a qualitatively different style of governance in the next five years.

Paper presented at a seminar entitled "After the elections: the future of India as a regional and global power", organized by LUISS University, Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and Torino World Affairs Institute (TWAI), Rome, 9 June 2014. Italian version: "India: le elezioni del 2014", in IndiaIndie, n. 2-3/2014 (luglio 2014), p. 1-4.