Social Expansion of the BJP: A Case Studay of Sikar District Sharma Rajendra Department of Political Science, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak-124001 Online published on 14 February, 2012. Abstract The paper is based on qualitative data collected from Sikar district of Rajasthan based on elections for Rajasthan Assembly in 2003 and Lok Sabha elections in 2004. The main aim is to understand and analyse the expansion of social base of Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) in relation to the Congress party. The study clearly shows that both money-power and casteism have been significant factors in power-politics. But at the same time, when caste is a pronounced factor, role of money declines. This does not mean that there are no intra-caste political rivalries. Both Congress and BJP are faction-ridden, and different factions are led even by the leaders of the same caste. For example, Jats lead factions within the Congress as well as BJP. Candidates belonging to the same caste, as nominees of BJP and Congress, have contested elections. No party is a preserve of a single caste or of a set of castes. This is how the traditional Jat-Rajput conflict has declined. It is difficult to identify communities wholy within one party. Castes have to lay stakes in different political parties. The defining features of power-politics are social base, political patronage and sound economic standing. Top Keywords Caste, Dominance, Elections, Factions, Hegemony, Money-power, Political alliances, Political elite, Social base State. Top |