These figures tell a story of shifting allegiances and the seeming return of the BJP’s political dominance: the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025, passed the Rajya Sabha with 128 votes in favor and 95 against, and it cleared the Lok Sabha with 288 MPs in favor and 232 against. When analyzing the numbers, it is evident that the BJP has the support of its allies in the ruling National Democratic Alliance.
The parties in the middle, the Biju Janata Dal and YSR Congress Party, did not issue any whip to their MPs on how to vote on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
When the government first introduced the Waqf Bill in August 2024, during the first Parliament Session following the Lok Sabha election, this was not the case. The Bill was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the same day, reportedly at the behest of the BJP’s own allies — the Janata Dal (United), the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) who were keen to protect their minority support bases.
BJP ally Chirag Paswan once more voiced opposition to any plans for lateral entry into the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in August 2024, arguing that it would not be subject to the same reservations for Scheduled Castes and Tribes and other backward classes as normal recruitment. That idea had to be retracted by the government.
When stakeholder concerns forced the government to postpone proposals for a Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, August did not get any better. India appeared to have fully returned to the coalition era, when friends would show off their prowess and force choices to be reversed.
Regardless of the rhetoric surrounding the actual content of the legislation, therefore, the passage of the Waqf Bill in both Houses this week has more to do with the fact that the Modi government seems to have rediscovered its mojo, and reclaimed its political authority. The comprehensive electoral victories posted by the BJP in Maharashtra, Haryana, and then Delhi have contributed a lot to the restoration of the hegemonic political position that the BJP has occupied for the last decade or so.
The situation has also been exacerbated by the political pressures of its allies. In Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is keen to secure Central funds and support for the State, while in Bihar, the JD(U) has moved closer to the BJP’s political agenda due to the deteriorating health of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. In a sense, the allies have become more integrated into the BJP’s program than they have ever been in the NDA’s history. Though none of them appear to be grumbling, the NDA, which consists of the BJP, JD(U), LJP, and Hindustan Awaam Morcha (HAM), will go into the next Bihar election on a polarization platform that may or may not work for the other parties. The often gladiatorial nature of parliamentary faceoffs may result in point scoring and pithy exchanges, but the second part of this year’s Budget Session was all about the BJP’s comeback in its pre-2024 avatar.
