Introduction

In the recent Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party won four States (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won one (Punjab). There was a premise that this time, particularly in U.P., there was a strong resistance to the BJP’s Kamandal or religious nationalist politics from the Samajwadi Party’s social justice politics or Mandal politics.

What actually won the day for the BJP and what, therefore, happens to the idea that Hindu religious politics can be or should be countered by caste identity politics?

Guests: Indrajit Roy teaches at the University of York in the U.K. and is the author of ‘Passionate Politics’; Radhika Ramaseshan is a senior journalist

Host: Varghese K. George

Read the parley article here