The ‘Inspirational Politics’ of Religion and Growing Influence in India
The ‘Inspirational Politics’ of Religion and Growing Influence in India

Summary/Abstract: ‘Inspirational politics’ is a tool of attraction that generally influences a political party based on ideologies and beliefs, e.g., religion, caste, ethnicity, class, and other philosophies. In this regard, this article examines ‘inspirational politics’ in accordance with an Indian case study, which emerged just before independence and became particularly prominent after the 2014 General Assembly election. Qualitative content and discourse analysis are primarily applied here to explore the sources of inspiration for a political party that embraces a religion-based political identity in its engagement in India. Moreover, this study assesses the instruments through which power is stimulated and identifies where political parties gain majoritarian support in a plural society. It also conducts a case study of the current ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to substantiate the argument. The study shows that inspirational politics has helped to spread religious sentiment among voters to gain and maintain power, enabling the BJP to achieve two consecutive landslide victories following the Congress Party in India. Therefore, the study concludes that the BJP employs inspirational politics to achieve its political objectives.

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