Bharatiya Janata Party
भारतीय जनता पार्टी |
|
---|---|
Abbreviation | BJP |
President | Amit Shah |
Parliamentary Chairperson | Narendra Modi |
Lok Sabha leader |
Narendra Modi (Prime Minister) |
Rajya Sabha leader |
Arun Jaitley (Finance Minister) |
Founded | 6 April 1980 |
Preceded by |
Bharatiya Jana Sangh (1951−1977) Janata Party (1977−1980) |
Headquarters | 11 Ashoka Road, New Delhi-110001 |
Newspaper | Kamal Sandesh |
Youth wing | Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha |
Women's wing | BJP Mahila Morcha |
Peasant's wing | BJP Kisan Morcha |
Minority wing | BJP Minority Morcha |
Membership | 110 million (July 2015) |
Ideology | Hindu nationalism National Conservatism Right-wing populism Hindutva Gandhian socialism Integral humanism |
Political position | Right-wing |
International affiliation |
International Democratic Union Asia Pacific Democrat Union |
Colours | Saffron |
ECI Status | National Party |
Alliance | National Democratic Alliance (NDA) |
Seats in Lok Sabha |
282 / 545
(currently 540 members + 1 Speaker) |
Seats in Rajya Sabha |
56 / 245
(currently 243 members) |
Election symbol | |
Website | |
www |
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The Bharatiya Janata Party (pronounced [bʱaːrət̪iːjə dʒənət̪aː paːrʈiː]; translation: Indian People's Party; abbr. BJP) is one of the two major political parties in India, along with the Indian National Congress. As of 2016[update], it is the country's largest political party in terms of representation in the national parliament and state assemblies, and it is the world's largest party in terms of primary membership. The BJP is a right-wing party, with close ideological and organisational links to the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
The BJP's origins lie in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, formed in 1951 by Syama Prasad Mookerjee. After the State of Emergency in 1977, the Jana Sangh merged with several other parties to form the Janata Party; it defeated the incumbent Congress party in the 1977 general election. After three years in power, the Janata party dissolved in 1980 with the members of the erstwhile Jana Sangh reconvening to form the BJP. Although initially unsuccessful, winning only two seats in the 1984 general election, it grew in strength on the back of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Following victories in several state elections and better performances in national elections, the BJP became the largest party in the parliament in 1996; however, it lacked a majority in the lower house of Parliament, and its government lasted only 13 days.
After the 1998 general election, the BJP-led coalition known as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) formed a government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for a year. Following fresh elections, the NDA government, again headed by Vajpayee, lasted for a full term in office; this was the first non-Congress government to do so. In the 2004 general election, the NDA suffered an unexpected defeat, and for the next ten years the BJP was the principal opposition party. Long time Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi led it to a landslide victory in the 2014 general election. Since that election, Modi leads the NDA government as Prime Minister and as of August 2016[update], the alliance governs 15 states.