Bharatiya Janata Party

Nation, Nationalism and the Public Sphere: Religious Politics in India edited by Avishek Ray and Ishita Banerjee-Dube, New Delhi: Sage, 2020;
pp viii + 265, `1,195.

The 2014 and 2019 general elections in India were referred to as “WhatsApp elections,” which had IT cells, bots, and political consultants strategically using data mining tools to build resonant narratives to tell voters what they wanted to hear. By the 2014 national election, the industry was reported to be worth $40–$47 million. Between 2014 and 2018, industry specialists approximated that the number of firms in this market had at least doubled. These unprecedented tools of technological campaigning come with new forms of identifying, targeting, and defining issues of political importance. This article suggests that such developments are turning electoral politics into a thriving business being data-driven, technologically oriented, and having far-reaching implications for democratic processes.

To dismiss the elevation of Charanjit Singh Channi as a mere political gimmick would be wrong.

Revisiting the 2008 and 2021 orders by the respective union governments amending the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 is imperative in terms of its legality and practicality and to remove the impression that India is a “surveillance state.”

Hyper-populism riding on welfare schemes along with a polarised campaign on religious lines paved the way for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance’s return to power in Assam. As the new government resumes office, it remains to be seen if it will continue its emphasis on polarising issues such as reverification of National Register of Citizens and ban or focus on larger issues like the Covid-19 pandemic, flood and erosion that continue to hamper the state’s development.