Analysis: BJP And Left, Ideologically Diverse, Has Same Set Of Voters

Updated: Apr 08, 2026 16:45 pm IST Published On Apr 08, 2026 16:42 pm IST Last Updated On Apr 08, 2026 16:45 pm IST

Published On Apr 08, 2026 16:42 pm IST

Last Updated On Apr 08, 2026 16:45 pm IST

As India concluded its demonetisation exercise in the early parts of 2017, a silent change on the electoral landscape was triggered in two states - Bengal and Odisha. This change manifested itself in the by-election results. In Bengal, in the assembly by-elections held to Dakshin Kanthi in 2017, and in Maheshtala in 2018, the BJP came runner in both, where in the 2016 assembly elections the party had less than 10 per cent votes. Clearly the BJP had appealed to an aspirational Hindu voter consistently 2017 onwards, fueled by the narrative of demonetisation, being an act of leveling up society.

Flash back in history to the early 50s and 60s in Kerala, when the undivided CPI contested without allying with any parties: the party performed well in Hindu majority districts; it did poorly in districts of Kottayam, Ernakulam, and Kozhikode, where the religious minorities have a decisive influence, and the party got better results in places where the SC and the lower caste Ezhavas had a high presence. Again here it was an aspirational section of the Hindu society which had allied with the Left Front.

OPPOSING IDEOLOGIES WITH IDENTICAL SOCIAL BASE

The early trajectories of the stories of the growth of the BJP and the Left, not just reveal similarities in voter base appealed to, but also reinforce the complementary nature of their growth.

In Bengal, the growth of the BJP between 2016 and 2019 was precisely in the areas where the LF was strong earlier and not the urban areas which remained a stronghold of the Trinamool. The Trinamool on........

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