Practical, backing, or identity politics may yield short-term electoral victories in India, but long-term survival requires ideological consistency. The success of the BJP indicates how ideological clarity, conveyed through policies and storytelling, can galvanize a multi-stranded electorate. In contrast, opposition disunity and failure to project an alternative underscores the dangers of ideological ambiguity. With Indian politics developing, only those parties that project a vision that resonates will survive, whereas those projecting short-term politics will not be able to hold out. This election underscores that survival in Indian politics without a well-defined ideological basis is difficult.
The February Delhi Assembly election was a big event. The AAP, which had ruled Delhi for over a decade with a majority, could not win this time. The party, which had started as a protest against corruption, could not maintain its original ideology and deliver on its promises in its initial years. It gradually became a part of the same political culture as the conventional parties. Although the AAP made remarkable strides in healthcare and education, it could not hold on to power. Meanwhile, the INC was able to gain more votes than in the previous general election. The BJP, which has a reputation for its combative campaigning, used a comparatively milder approach this time. Hate speeches were hardly heard, and even the party's senior leaders organized fewer roadshows and public meetings than ever before.
Ideology: The Foundation of Political Identity in India
Indian political parties, as in all other parts of the world, rely on ideological narratives to define their differences and build enduring constituencies. In a nation as heterogeneous as India, where religion, language, and regional identities intersect and overlap in multifaceted ways, ideology becomes a "brand identity" that is much more nuanced than vote buying. For instance, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has consolidated its organizational influence through Hindutva—a political and cultural imagination that rallies a significant portion of Hindu voters. Such a straightforward, unifying narrative promises the possibility of long-term economic or cultural change while also providing the voter with a "home" where they feel their values are represented. Likewise, the Indian National Congress's history is one of secularism and welfare. This is the way that the minority communities can feel a sense of belonging within these parties. It is left-wing parties such as CPI (M) that can arouse the sentiments of the workers by speaking socialist. In a nutshell, an uncomplicated political ideology turns into an issue-based identity, which is a vision or a roadmap towards a better life.
Electoral Pragmatism and Ideological Consistency: The Balancing Act
Yet, Indian politics is characterized by a balance between ideological principle and electioneering expediency. Parties - yes, even parties with a clear-cut ideology tend to alter their message to win over a larger chunk of the electorate. A good example is the AAP, an anti-corruption party that ended up as a welfare and “free electricity and healthcare” party. Although such pragmatic realignments can be vote-winners in the short term, they also have the potential to undermine a party's ideological legitimacy if voters see the changes as opportunistic. Recent instances are the BJP's cash handouts in states such as Jharkhand and Maharashtra—strategies aimed at increasing voter turnout during economic downturns, even if they do not represent an ideological commitment. Flipping-flopping on issues of the core may bring about disillusion and distrust in the voters and thus prevent long-term stability.
Short-Term Gain vs Long-Term Vision
Identity and Patronage
The Indian political landscape has been dominated by identity politics and patronage networks for a long time. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) turns to caste identity— Dalit mobilization—to try and win votes, whereas regional contestants in the form of Shiv Sena and the DMK bet on linguistic and cultural solidarities. Such strategies, involving as they usually do handouts of subsidies and cash gifts, can get immediate electoral paybacks by spreading clientelism. Yet, this long-term dependence upon patronage might not assist parties in developing a unified policy platform and a transformational vision of national progress. Lacking a dominant ideological storyline, parties are likely to use short-term support and risk exposure when immediate gain dissolves.
The BJP's Success: Ideological Consistency in an Age of Polarization
The rise of the BJP across the past few decades highlights the value of having a distinct ideological framework. By persistently asserting Hindutva, the BJP has altered the tenor of political discourse in India, united the Hindu vote, and driven opposition parties to the periphery who cannot offer a consolidated alternative narrative. This ideological dominance has allowed the BJP to pass change-and sometimes contentious-policies, from the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir to the Citizenship Amendment Act. Contrarily, opposition parties like the Indian National Congress have been plagued by ideological vagueness, which has been one of the causes of their fragmentation. Commentators have observed that in a growingly divided political atmosphere, a cohesive and robust ideological narrative is not an academic indulgence but a pragmatic imperative for long-term political hegemony.
Surviving Without Ideology: Constraints in the Indian Political Context
Though theoretically, a party could live on patronage alone, identity mobilization, or populism, the Indian political environment raises significant barriers. Institutional structures—like the Election Commission's party recognition based on certain criteria—discount parties that do not reveal large-scale, stable support derived from a well-defined vision. With the increasingly entrenched polarization of voters through visions of ideology, for example, between secularism and Hindutva sentiments, the absence of clearly outlined ideological views can lead to policy paralysis and disaffection with the public. In such a complicated society as India's, where political success increasingly lies in its stability in long-term policies, nebulous or amorphous ideological positions tend to lead to uncertain governments and loss of credibility.
Mohammad Hesham Atik is a student pursuing Psychology Hons. from Jamia Millia Islamia.
Edited By: Sana Faiz
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of The Jamia Review or its members.
