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The results of the four-State election (Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana), declared on Sunday, provide a wealth of compelling evidence that might help us answer two of the most important questions relating to Indian politics. What are the crucial factors which best explain the continuing national dominance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)? Second, and somewhat relatedly, what explains the perennially feeble state of the Opposition (principally the Congress party)?

Explaining the BJP’s triumph

In some respects, the BJP’s triumph in all three States, i.e., Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, represents a puzzle. However, it might appear much more of a puzzle to those who have consistently laid emphasis on the organisational machinery and the welfare model of the BJP to explain its electoral successes. Those factors are important but not decisive.