The BJP is commemorating a new political “milestone”. On 10 June, wrote Ram Madhav, an important Hindu nationalist ideologue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi “will complete 4,399 consecutive days in office, overtaking Jawaharlal Nehru’s record of 4,398 days after the first general election”. To underline the political significance of the| occasion, the BJP officially celebrated the occasion under the leadership of the party’s National President Nitin Nabin and Home Minister Amit Shah at Bharat Mandapam. Modi ruling India longer than Nehru is an iconic moment for the party and its ideology, Hindu
nationalism.

The realm that is the intersection of politics and economics is encountering a weighty paradox in India. The Modi government is exercising mastery over the
political domain, but the problems of the Indian economy are growing worse. The chasm between increasing political domination and deepening economic frailties may not be bridgeable without serious reform.

It has been nearly two years since the 2024 national elections. How should we conceptualise the state of Indian politics today? Are there any significant reasons for concern?

Did the SIR with its deletions and active disenfranchisement of over 27 lakh voters propel the BJP to power in West Bengal? This is the question that is dominating the political debate

The defeat of the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill in Parliament affords an opportunity to wrest the delimitation debate from narrow partisan concerns and open a wider conversation on India’s federal bargain.

What is the larger significance of India’s recent state elections? It is important to avoid easy generalisations, however tempting such generalisations may be. The BJP’s victory in West Bengal, undoubtedly hugely significant, does not imply that the 2029 Lok Sabha elections already have a foregone conclusion.