India Study Centre at ISSI launches special study titled ‘Quantifying Electoral Politics of Congress & BJP’

ISLAMABAD: The India Study Centre (ISC) at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) launched its special study, “Quantifying Electoral Politics of Congress and BJP”.

The study was co-authored by Director ISC Dr Khurram Abbas, and researchers, Maheen Shafeeq and Usama Hameed.

This groundbreaking research, the first of its kind in Pakistan on the 18th Lok Sabha, offers a comprehensive analysis of political trends in India through quantification of the newly-elected MPs from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the leading opposition party Indian National Congress (INC) on various indicators such as caste, religious affiliation, wealth status, and familial roots in the country’s politics.

The study’s launch featured a distinguished panel of experts who shared their perspectives on its findings.

Along with the keynote address by Khalid Rahman, chairman Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), the other speakers included Ambassador Babar Amin, former diplomat; Dr Asma Shakir Khwaja, executive director of Centre for International Strategic Studies, Azad Jammu and Kashmir; and Maryam Mastoor, research fellow Institute of Regional Studies.

Dr Khurram Abbas introduced the significance of and rationale behind this data-based study, and methodological approach which was employed to collect and analyse the data.

In his remarks on the occasion, DG ISSI Ambassador Sohail Mahmood highlighted that the 2024 elections in India were particularly noteworthy for their scale and political implications. With over 969 million eligible voters, the elections spanned seven phases, making them the longest in Indian history.

He observed that while the BJP pursued aggressive campaigning with slogans such as “Abki Baar 400 Paar,” their performance reflected a decline in dominance, securing 240 seats compared to 303 in 2019. This contrasted with notable resurgence for the Congress, which gained official opposition status after a decade.

Ambassador Mahmood emphasised that India’s democratic identity is increasingly influenced by socio-political inequalities stemming from the ages-old, oppressive caste system and class stratification.

He noted that the blending of India’s democratic ethos with a Hindu nationalist agenda entails serious concerns internationally, with scholars characterising it as “ethnic” or “illiberal” democracy and even entities like the V-Dem Institute classifying India as an “electoral autocracy.”

Ambassador Sohail Mahmood lauded the ISC team for conducting a thorough investigation of the 18th Lok Sabha to measure the standing of the two leading political parties in India on their matrix, while underlining the serious need to undertake such studies for better understanding of the evolving dynamics in the Indian state and society.

Khalid Rahman, chairman of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), provided a critical perspective on India’s electoral process, questioning whether the claim of being the “largest democracy” reflected true democratic substance or was merely a façade. He highlighted systemic issues such as the manipulation of voter rolls, suppression of civil society organizations, and changes to the chief election commissioner’s appointment process that consolidated executive control. These factors, he argued, raise serious concerns about India’s commitment to much-celebrated democratic principles and electoral integrity. He also underscored the importance of expanding the data-based research work on India-related subjects.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025