Contents
1 History
1.1 Bharatiya Jana Sangh (1951-1980)
1.2 Bharatiya Janata Party (1980-)
2 Bharatiya Janata Party in general election
3 Ideology and political positions
3.1 Hindutva
3.2 Economic policies The party opposed the appeasement policy of the Indian National Congress[citation needed] and was against any compromise in the matters of national a
nd cultural integrity, unity and identity. It was widely regarded as the political arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.[18]
After Mookerjee's untimely death in prison in 1953, during an agitation demanding the effective integration of Jammu and Kashmir into India, the entire burden of nurturing the orphaned organisation and building it up as a nation-wide movement fell on the young shoulders of Deendayal Upadhyaya. For 15 years, he remained the outfit's general secretary and built it up. He raised a band of dedicated workers imbued with idealism and provided the entire ideological framework of the party. He groomed future political leaders like Vajpayee, Advani and others. However, the vast majority of the party workers, including Upadhyaya himself were derived from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and brought with them the patriotic fervour and discipline of the parent organisation.[18]
The Jana Sangh won just three Lok Sabha seats in the first general elections in 1952. However, it gradually increased its strength and by 1962 had become one of the most effective opposition parties in India and seriously challenged the power of the Congress in various north Indian states. Enforcing a uniform civil code for all Indians, Barring the killing (and eating) of cows, abolishing the special statues accorded to J&K and majorly promoting usage of the Hindi language were some of the pivotal ideological key points of the party[citation needed]. After 1967, The party entered into coalition with political organisations of similar ideologies and political positions and formed governments in various states such as Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and others. The party was a major part of the political agitation against the emergency (1975–77) imposed by the Indira Gandhi regime and thousands of its leaders and workers were reportedly imprisoned across India. The party along with many other political parties merged with the Janata Party in 1977 to present a united opposition to the Congress. The Janata Party won with a huge majority in 1977 and formed the government with Morarji Desai as prime minister. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had become the leader of the Jana Sangh after Upadhyaya's death in 1967, was appointed as the external affairs minister in the new government. The Janata government did not last long, though. Morarji Desai resigned as prime minister, and the Janata party was consequently dissolved. The BJS had devoted all its political efforts to sustain the coalition and was left exhausted by the internecine wars within the Janata Party. Bharatiya Janata Party (1980-)
In 1980, the leaders and workers of the former Bharatiya Jana Sangh, founded the Bharatiya Janata Party with Vajpayee as its first president. The BJP heavily criticised the Congress government and its policies, and while it opposed the Sikh militancy that was rising in the state of Punjab, it also blamed Indira Gandhi for biassed and corrupt politics that instigated the militancy at national expense. Sikh Leader Darasingh opines that Vajpayee thus "brought in Hindu-Sikh harmony."[19]
The BJP was a major opponent of Operation Blue Star.[citation needed] The party was amongst those who strongly disliked and openly protested the violence against Sikhs in Delhi that broke out in 1984, following the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi by one of her Sikh bodyguards. The BJP was left with only two parliamentary seats in the 1984 elections; the party, however, had established itself in the mainstream of Indian politics, and soon began widening its structure and policies to attract young Indians throughout the nation. During this period, Vajpayee remained central within the party as its president and as the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, but increasingly hard-line Hindu nationalists began to rise within the party and define its politics. Founders
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the first BJP Prime Minister of India (1998–2004). The BJP became the political voice of the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Movement, which was led by activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the RSS, and was advocating for the construction of a temple dedicated to Lord Rama in place of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Many believed, and still do believe, that the site was the birthplace of the Lord, and that there was a temple long before the Babri mosque was built after the alleged demolition of the temple by Babar.They held that this qualified the site as one of the most sacred sites of Hinduism, where a temple should be reconstructed. The party under its president Lal Krishna Advani invigorated the nation with various rath yatras and succeeded in creating a popular protest amongst Hindus. On 6 December 1992, hundreds of VHP and BJP activists broke down an orderly protest into a frenzied attack, and razed the mosque. Over the following weeks, waves of violence between Hindus and Muslims erupted all over the country, killing over 1000 people. The VHP was banned by the government, and many BJP leaders, including L.K. Advani were arrested briefly for provoking the destruction. Although widely condemned by many across the country for playing politics with sensitive issues, the BJP won the support of millions of Hindus, as well as national prominence. Victory in assembly elections of Delhi in 1993 and Gujarat and Maharashtra in March 1995, and a good performance in the elections to the Karnataka assembly in December 1994, propelled the BJP to the centre-stage. During the BJP session at Mumbai in November 1995, BJP president L.K. Advani declared that Vajpayee would be the Prime Minister of India if the BJP won the next parliamentary elections scheduled for May 1996. In that election, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha and Vajpayee became Prime minister. He, however had to resign within 13 days as the BJP was unable to obtain the required majority. In the Lok Sabha elections held in 1998 the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) obtained a simple majority. This time, the BJP (NDA) had allied with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Biju Janata Dal besides its existing allies, the Samata Party, the Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiv Sena. Among these regional parties, the Shiv Sena from the state of Maharashtra, is the only party which shares a similar ideology with the BJP.[20] Outside support was provided by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). The NDA had a slim majority, and Vajpayee returned as prime minister after the 13-day stint in 1996.[21] But the coalition ruptured in May 1999 when the leader of AIADMK, Jayalalitha, withdrew her support, and fresh elections were again held.
