Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
Political parties in India - statistics and facts
Touted as one of the largest democracies in the world, India is also home to some of the largest political parties in the world. Although a multi-party system, over 50 years of India鈥檚 electoral history were dominated by the (INC), the oldest political party in the country, which once led India鈥檚 anti-imperialist struggle. Post-1967, the rise of opposition against Congress in various states resulted in the polarization of state party systems; however, Congress still thrived nationally. Decades of dominance at the national level by the Congress were followed by an era of coalition politics between 1989 and 2014 when no single party earned a parliamentary majority on its own. However, in 2014, the right-wing nationalist Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) claimed the first single-party majority in the lower house of the Indian Parliament, followed by a consecutive victory in 2019. The BJP-led NDA alliance also won the next general election in 2024.
