For over three decades, regional parties have been a major element of the Indian polity. In 2024 Lok Sabha election, they could be classified into the following three types: one, parties that were allies of Bharatiya Janata Party in National Democratic Alliance; Secondly, parties that belonged to INDIA bloc and lastly, others. This includes some parties that technically did not belong in NDA and had recently endorsed the BJP’s controversial legislations or adopted ideological positions closer to those of BJP.
The first group includes Shiv Sena (led by Eknath Shinde), Janata Dal (United), Telugu Desam Party, Janata Dal (Secular), Lok Janshakti Party, Asom Gana Parishad and Nationalist Congress Party.
The second group includes Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Samajwadi Party, the Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (SP), the Left parties, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Aam Aadmi Party. The Trinamool Congress supported the alliance after the polls.
The third group consists of Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party, Biju Janata Dal, AIADMK, Bahujan Samaj Party, Bharat Rashtra Samiti and Shiromani Akali Dal.
In this year’s election alone, fortunes of parties from these first two categories were very much dependent on what their respective alliances did—wherever that dominant party performed well was where they did well also. But for parties in this third category things looked really bad.
Table 1 gives us its take on three BJP legislations which they believe are instances of “asymmetric federalism in India” — “dilution” of Article 370; Farmers Bill; Citizenship Amendment Act.
Table 1 | It shows how some political organisations took standpoints on these laws. Notice BRS, AIADMK, AAP, BSP, YSCRP and BJD in this table; they supported BJP’s position on one or more of the most important legislations although they were technically competing against it in their states.
Table 2 | Looking at YSCRP, BJD, AIADMK, BRS, BSP and AAP (not part of the third category but supported dilution of Article 370), we can see that these are the parties that have voted with BJP. In the tables are vote shares for state parties and for BJP. The tables also include figures on contested vote share by state parties (cont.) and BJP.
These parties experienced a major setback. At another point though it had also adopted a hostile attitude towards the BJP just as some other State units of Congress in Madhya Pradesh or Gujarat had resorted to “soft Hindutva” as a counter to the BJP’s emphasis on Hindtuva as an ideological differentiator. Also Congress faced its worst losses here.
In Tamil Nadu, after aligning with BJP I lost great support which remained lower despite breaking off from alliance because DMK-led coalition enjoyed a stronger cementing factor in its ideology towards BJP. This led YSRCP endorsing ideologically inclined laws by BJP to lose its edge thereby especially among minorities who according to Lokniti post-poll survey while aligned with BJP voted tactically for rival TDP and Jana Sena Party candidates.
BJD’s policy of “friends at the Centre/ rivals in the State” only helped BJP to grow at its cost. This was also experienced by BRS, which later turned its politics to being equidistant from Congress and BJP. The BSP also adopted a similar approach of “equidistance” and refrained from criticizing the BJP, desisting from agitational opposition. Like the other two parties, it too witnessed a great fall in support as many voters went with SP-Congress coalition in UP. These parties also lost those who wished to back one of the national alliances.
