BJP Foundation Day: Journey of Its Struggle to Get From 2 to 303 Seats in Last 4 Decades

The BJP started its journey in 1984 with its first general elections, in which it got only two seats. From its inception in 1980 until 2024, the BJP has received massive public support across the country and has become the largest party worldwide.

Ahmedabad (Gujarat): The Bharatiya Janata Party, which was formed on April 6, 1980, is celebrating its 44th foundation day on Saturday. The small seed of the party was planted by Jan Sangh.

The party started its journey in 1984 with its first general elections, in which it got only two seats. From its inception in 1980 until 2024, the party has received huge public support in the country, with several milestones.

The BJP came into existence in 1980, but politically, its ideology and background date back to the early years after independence. Bharatiya Jana Sangh was established in 1951 and thereafter, it contested the Lok Sabha elections of 1952, 1957, 1962, 1967, and 1971. In which the party traveled from 3 to 22 seats. Meanwhile, the party's vote percentage increased from 3 per cent to about 7.5 per cent.

The first elections were held in 1977, after the emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi. Janata Morcha got 299 seats out of 405. Out of which Jan Sangh won 93. The Janata Morcha government could not complete its term due to internal opposition. With the fall of the government in 1980, the need for mid-term elections came.

The Janata Party split and the then-political situation paved the way for the establishment of the BJP. On April 4, 1980, the national executive meeting of the Janata Party was held. In this meeting, those members who had not separated from Chaudhary Charan Singh were included. The Chandrashekhar group and some other socialists felt that if leaders and workers with Jan Sangh and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's backgrounds remained in the party, they would take over the party in terms of numbers and dominance.

A few months after the 1984 Lok Sabha elections, Gujarat Assembly elections were held in the same year. The sympathy wave and KHAM equation gave the Congress party 149 seats out of 182. Earlier in the 1980 assembly elections, the party had won 140 seats.

At the national level, Congress won 404 out of 491 seats. CPM got 22 seats, Janata Party got 10, CPI got 6, Indian Congress (Socialist) got 4, and Lok Dal got 3. A year later, in December 1985, when separate elections were held in Assam and Punjab, the Congress got 10 seats, ICS got one, regional parties got eight, and independents got eight. The BJP failed to open its account.

Party President Atal Bihari Vajpayee lost the Gwalior seat to Madhavrao Scindia. At present, Madhavrao's son, Jyotiraditya Scindia, is in the BJP and a minister in the Narendra Modi government.

On March 15–17, 1985, the National Executive Meeting of BJP was held in Bombay (now Mumbai) under the leadership of Vajpayee. In which, as the party president, Vajpayee took responsibility for the party's defeat in the Lok Sabha Assembly elections and was ready to face whatever punishment the party would give. In 1989, VP Singh's government was formed at the centre with the support of the BJP. But VP Singh's government soon collapsed.

In 1996, Vajpayee, the candidate of the BJP-led NDA alliance, became Prime Minister but failed to pass the trust vote, causing his government to fall in just 13 days. In 1998, the NDA alliance came to power again under the leadership of the BJP. Vajpayee remained in power for about 13 months, and his government faced political instability.

The BJP came back to power in 1999 with almost equal numbers. The NDA completed its tenure under the leadership of Vajpayee. Vajpayee is credited with successfully leading the first non-Congress government and the first coalition government. The BJP lost in the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha polls. UPA took power under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, and Dr Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister.

Currently, the entire world's eyes are on the 2024 general elections, which will be held on May 7 for 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat. Along with this, by-elections will be held in Vijapur, Porbandar, Manavadar, Khambhat, and Waghodia assembly seats.

The BJP has announced its resolve to go beyond 370 at the national level in the upcoming elections. A target of more than 400 seats has been set for the NDA.

In Gujarat, which is considered to be the stronghold of the BJP, it has been forming the government for 27 years, and since 2014, it has been winning 26 out of 26 seats in the state. And in the upcoming elections, the BJP is claiming to win every seat in Gujarat by over five lakh votes.

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