The BJP in Election 2019: Will the Narendra Modi-led BJP repeat its 2014 performance; come close to it; or even better it? There is a strong possibility for all three, and in that order, says Surjit S. Bhalla in Citizen Raj: Indian Elections 1952–2019.
The Congress in Election 2019: Will the Rahul Gandhi-led Indian National Congress emerge as the single largest Opposition party; or will it become irrelevant and be relegated to electoral history? Most likely, and in the same order, infers the author.
But this is not a book about Elections 2019. It is the most definitive account of the history of Indian elections, chronicling the political and economic background against which it has been unfolding since 1952: the hegemony of the Congress party for close to six decades, and why the ‘dynasts’ control it; the ignominious end of Janata Party in the 1970s; the economic reforms of 1991; rise of the Right-wing BJP in the early 1980s, and most importantly, the way India ceded space to a man called Narendra Modi.
Citizen Raj cautions readers that the BJP needs corrective action and to immediately move away from its cow politics; even as the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress party, and the Mahagathbandhan (an alliance of regional parties) need to move away from an outdated social and economic narrative to become worthy of a nation which is fast discarding identity and caste politics to emerge as a modern middle-class economic power. Brutally honest, deeply incisive and backed by in-depth research and data, this is essential reading for everyone interested in India’s political and economic future—no matter which side of the political divide they stand on.
About the Author
Dr Surjit S. Bhalla is Chairman, Oxus Research & Investments, and former member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisory Council or PMEAC. He also serves as Chairperson for the Ministry of Commerce High Level Advisory Group on Trade and as Economic Adviser to the fifteenth Finance Commission.
He holds a PhD in Economics from Princeton University, a Master in Public and International Affairs from Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, and a BSEE degree from Purdue University. Surjit S. Bhalla has written several academic articles as well as four books on globalisation and its effects on the world economy. He is a contributing editor for The Indian Express, and a consultant to Network 18. Surjit S. Bhalla lives in New Delhi and tweets @surjitbhalla
