ISLAMABAD: India’s delimitation battle has become the newest front in the charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP is not merely fighting elections but trying to lock in power structurally.
Local media, opposition parties and critics on social media are accusing BJP of reshaping the political system of India itself in a desparate attempt to hold onto power.
Delimitation of parliament
Critics in the South say a post-2026 redraw of Lok Sabha seats could shift weight toward the more populous Hindi belt, where the BJP has long drawn its core strength, and dilute the clout of states that have resisted it electorally.
The Wire has warned that the plan could marginalise southern states in Parliament, with the opposition saying that even a blanket seat increase carries “deeper implications” for the federal balance.
One Nation, One Election
Before that came the push for “One Nation, One Election.” The BJP calls it efficiency. Critics see something harsher: the compression of state politics into one nationalised contest dominated by the country’s biggest political machine, BJP.
Digital News outlet Scroll reported concerns that simultaneous elections would erode federalism by subsuming regional issues and identities.
CAA Rules, 2024
Then came the Citezenship Amendment Act rules, notified in March 2024 on the eve of the general election.
The Wire reported that BJP leaders in West Bengal publicly tied implementation to the coming polls, and later said the first citizenship certificates were granted ahead of the final phase of voting in a move that could benefit the BJP in West Bengal.
Critics have long argued that the law helps the BJP sharpen Hindu-majoritarian consolidation at election time.
Electoral bonds scandal
The electoral bonds scandal, 2024, laid bare the money machine. The Wire reported that the BJP redeemed INR 82.5 billion, just short of half of all bonds sold under the now-struck-down scheme.
In blunt political terms, critics say anonymous money helped build a campaign apparatus no rival could match.
Restructuring election commissioner appointing committee
In 2023, Modi’s government changed the law on appointing Election Commissioners, replacing the Chief Justice of India on the selection panel with a Union cabinet minister.
Scroll reported that challenges to the law argued it let the executive tighten its grip over the body meant to referee elections.
Use of central agencies
Running underneath all this since 2014 has been the use of central agencies, especially the Enforcement Directorate.
Scroll, citing official-data analysis, reported that Enforcement Directorate raids and searches rose 86 times under the Modi government compared with the previous decade.
Critics say the Enforcement Directorate helps the BJP stay in power by putting opposition leaders under legal and political pressure, draining their time, money and campaign focus.
They also point to a “washing machine” pattern, in which action against some opposition politicians weakens or stalls after they join the BJP or its allies, creating pressure on rivals to defect and fragmenting the opposition.
Taken together, these measures have fueled opposition allegations that the BJP has used changes in representation, election timing, campaign finance, institutions and investigative pressure to strengthen its long-term political advantage.
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