INDIAN ELECTION AND RISE OF BJP
Running across nine phases, India went to the polls in 2014 in the largest General Election in the country’s history. With around 815 million Indians registered to vote, the mammoth democratic process concluded on May 12. Four days later, Narendra Modi-led Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was declared the winner, having taken 60 percent of the seats in parliament.
Among 545 seats in the Indian parliament, Lok Sabha, BJP in the 16th national polls won 282 seats, with a big vote swing of 12.2 upwards, which was 3.36 downwards in the 15th polls. Aam Aadmi Party's leader Arvind Kejriwal unsuccessfully contested against the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi. Its spokesperson Prashant Bhushan argued that AAP's national debut performance was better than that of the winning party BJP in its first national elections in 1984.
During the course of the campaign, several controversies arose with parties being accused by one another and the Election Commission of India of violating Election Commission of India's Model Code of Conduct that is in force during the election.
In the run-up to the election the media in India was criticised for its establishment ties between family owners and political parties. It caused self-censorship and editorial dismissals at certain media outlets.
Sources: Indian Election Commission, Al Jazeera
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