The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a political party in India that was founded in 1980. However, its roots can be traced back to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, a right-wing political party founded in 1951 by Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
The Bharatiya Jana Sangh was a pro-Hindu party that aimed to promote the interests of India's Hindu majority. It was opposed to the secularism of the ruling Indian National Congress party and advocated for a strong, centralized government and a free-market economy.
The Bharatiya Jana Sangh merged with several other parties in 1977 to form the Janata Party, which briefly held power at the national level. However, the Janata Party soon fractured, and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders, led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani, broke away to form the BJP in 1980.
In the early years of its existence, the BJP struggled to gain traction, winning only two seats in the 1984 general elections. However, it gradually built up its support base, particularly in northern and western India.
The BJP's rise to prominence can be attributed to a number of factors, including its pro-Hindu stance, its opposition to the perceived appeasement of minority communities by the Congress party, and its effective use of technology and social media.
The BJP first came to power at the national level in 1998, when it formed a coalition government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Since then, it has been in power for a total of 13 years at the national level, including its current tenure under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who came to power in 2014 and was re-elected in 2019.