Indian politics: The year of discord

In one of the largest democracies of the world, India, evaluating a year gone by is as complex as the multi-religion complexities and the Hindu caste system. When the state or the ruling dispensation takes upon itself to base political fortunes on these complexities through the nerve of emotions and sentiments, the evaluation becomes both complex and easier. Yes, it sounds dichotomous but it is a reality that has to be taken into account as one looks at the nation’s travel through 2025.

Easier because the conflicts become visible on the streets to the utter discomfiture of the nation. Complex because it is difficult to evaluate its long-term effects in easier terms.

What is the marker for such an evaluation in a bubbling democracy, but facing the ignominious onslaught on its fundamentals?

Primarily and more importantly, it has to be the state of the social and political fabric on which hinge the parameters of economic and other successes. The societal pell-mell primarily fomented by the politics of conflicts —  a mechanism being overtly and overbearingly pursued by the ruling dispensation in Delhi, and to some extent by regional satraps of different hues — to further their political fortunes, has naturally clouded the success graph of the Narendra Modi government, which, though, has many achievements to its credit.

The year 2025, as evaluated or reviewed in this backdrop, has certainly left a bad taste in the mouth. Despite the BJP failing to garner even a simple majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and being heavily dependent on allies to run the Union Government, it has not made any difference to Mr Modi’s standing. Conflicts, controversies and confusions apart in the political landscape between the ruling BJP and the Congress-headed opposition, and the society, he has remained the dominant figure, though further contributing to the abysmally diminishing public discourse. Perhaps it suited his politics well but certainly not the nation.   

Unfortunately, the year saw the constitutional institutions finding themselves further entrapped in controversies that are inimical to the national or public interest.  There has always been a question mark on the autonomous functioning of these institutions, with a tendency of the successive Central governments to interfere and dominate their work. It was more pronounced in 2025 with the Election Commission of India (ECI) taking the centre stage.

After the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the state elections remained the battlegrounds. The BJP won Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra and Bihar assembly- as the year was about to fold- elections contrary to what political pundits, psephologists and independent observers had projected. This naturally drew sharper battlelines between the BJP and the opposition, particularly the Congress. Ever since, the charges have been flying thick and high, alleging manipulation by the ruling BJP-led dispensation and ECI, in the absence of any plausible rebuttal from Nirvachan Sadan, the ECI was trapped in the crossfire.

The hurried manner in which the Special Intensive Revision, popularly called SIR, of electoral rolls in Bihar to remove names of the voters, lock, stock and barrel, followed by other states to remove what the BJP leaders have described as the “illegal immigrants or voters” from the voter lists, resulted in the political atmosphere getting more vitiated. It was more disturbing, not seen happening before so glaringly, to find authorities in some of these institutions openly taking a political stance. Rather than convincingly address the opposition allegations of voters' list being “manipulated” to help the ruling party at the Centre, the poll panel demurred.

If Mr Modi emerged stronger after the 2014 poll setback, the year 2025 saw further decimation of the opposition unity. Not that it was on a stronger footing at the start of this year, but the conflicts and contradictions and leaders' inflated egos and ambitions further weakened the INDIA bloc with a total debacle in Bihar sounding the death knell.

From the opposition point of view, it continued to be a solo show or fight by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Mr Rahul Gandhi. Neither could he achieve the opposition unity nor the cohesiveness within his own party structure. As a result, 2026 will start for him and the opposition on a very challenging note.

There was a total absence, for reasons best known to them, of regional leaders and INDIA partners such as Trinamool Congress chief, Ms Mamta Banerjee, Nationalist Congress Party (SCP-faction) supremo, Mr Sharad Pawar, DMK chief, Mr Stalin and other parties’ leaders from the opposition unity graph. A fractured opposition was what was left at the end of the year. This was even though the Congress’s “Vote Chor, Gadi Shor” nationwide campaign led by Mr Gandhi, which culminated in a successful rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, did manage to corner Mr Modi and his team. It certainly saw the government and the BJP distressfully defending their poll victories in the states. This could become a good take-off point for the Congress, and more so Mr Gandhi in 2016, provided remedial measures are taken primarily to strengthen the organization to match the well-oiled BJP network, which will be more combative in the months to come, as the indications are.

A highlight of the year 2025 was Operation Sindoor, carried out by the Armed Forces against Pakistan in retaliation for a Pakistan-backed terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which left scores of innocent tourists dead. The Operation turned out to be unconventional in the sense that it, for the first time, saw a sample of technological warfare coming into use rather than the past artillery and infantry-dominated combats backed by air and sea warfare.

It had its fair share of controversies attached to the real outcome. In some quarters, nationally and internationally, raised questions about its outcome. There is no doubt that many questions pertaining to ‘Operation Sindoor’ still remain unanswered, which the people would have liked to know. Maybe such doubts are addressed by the powers that be in the New Year.

Yet another controversy involving the high Constitutional office of the Vice President was witnessed during the year. It was on account of the unceremonious stepping down of the incumbent Mr Jagdeep Dhankar, who no doubt had courted controversies due to his conduct as Rajya Sabha Chairman and, in some cases, his public conduct, which many alleged was political and partisan. 

It was a bad and black chapter written in the democratic history of India in 2025. His sudden resignation from the high post on “health reasons” combined with the total silence of the Government till date, and going into oblivion from the public gaze, to suddenly appear briefly before the year ended, made the issue look more mysterious.

With the spectre of no-confidence looming large and the government in no mood to defend him, he resigned in a huff. Mr C P Radhakrishnan was elected his successor in September, with the ruling  NDA’s numerical strength ensuring a smooth transition. While the resignation did not trigger institutional instability, it strongly reflected the growing friction between the executive, the legislature, and the Opposition within Parliament.

(The writer is a political and national affairs analyst); views are personal