About the Special Issue on 2019 Elections

DOI10.1177/2321023019874627
Published date01 December 2019
Date01 December 2019
Subject MatterEditorial
01INP874627_rev1.indd Editorial
About the Special Issue on
Studies in Indian Politics
7(2) vii, 2019
2019 Elections
© 2019 Lokniti, Centre for the
Study of Developing Societies
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DOI: 10.1177/2321023019874627
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A large electoral quake shook most parts of India in 2014. An electoral quake of a similar magnitude
followed in 2019. Those who are engaged in the study of Indian politics are naturally interested in know-
ing the reasons for the tectonic shift that caused these quakes, their focus and epicentre, and their conse-
quences to the political terrain. Studies in Indian Politics brought out a special issue with a set of articles
that sought to explain the outcome of the 2014 Lok Sabha election (3.1, June 2015). Now we are placing
before you this special issue on the 2019 election.
In 2014, the appeal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), then in opposition, was Ab ki bar, Modi Sarkar
(This time around, a Modi government). Its appeal in 2019, now as the ruling party, sounded similar to the
one before: Phir ek bar, Modi sarkar (One more time, Modi government). In the run up to the election and
during the campaign period, there was a hope of victory and a fear of defeat in almost all political parties.
When the votes were counted, the Modi-led BJP not only merely secured a majority of seats in the Lok
Sabha, but it even surpassed its 2014 performance in terms of votes, seats and geographical coverage.
The 2019 result made it clear that the 2014 result was not a one-time event whose tremors would not be felt
in 2019. The result of 2019 election is akin to the one in 2014, causing much destruction and damage:
tossed several leaders around, buried a few parties under the debris, decimated some and crippled many.
The collection of articles in the special issue probe the fault lines beneath the...

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