It would seem that such a scenario is being realised with the instruments of fear, the State’s financial resources, and the Election Commission of India’s partisanship

Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves a ‘gamcha’ during the celebration of the NDA’s victory in the Bihar Assembly elections at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi. PIC/PTI

The landslide victory of the National Democratic Alliance comprising, in the main, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (United), in Bihar suggests India is closer to becoming a one-party system than it was until last year. A one-party system presumes the Opposition’s defeat is almost inevitable, and that it’s impossible to dislodge through elections the ruling party or the alliance it heads.

This is the conclusion to be drawn from the NDA and BJP’s tsunami-like victory in Bihar, where it bagged 202 out of 243 seats, building upon their already impressive triumphs in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Delhi after suffering a setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. These victories will further demoralise the Opposition, which will find the going tough in states due to elect new Assemblies before 2029.

India’s movement towards a one-party system has two principal drivers. One of these is the BJP deploying its extraordinary powers, derived from the party ruling the Centre, to cripple the Opposition. This it has done through raids on Opposition leaders, filing corruption cases, and jailing some of them. This instrument of fear, along with the formidable resources it commands, is wielded to split rival parties, debilitating

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