Speakers:
Rajdeep Sardesai, Senior Journalist & Author
Pradeep Chhibber, Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley
Rahul Verma, Fellow, CPR
About the Book:
On 23 May 2019, when the results of the general elections were announced, Narendra Modi and the BJP-led NDA coalition were voted back to power with an overwhelming majority. To some, the numbers of Modi’s victory came as something of a surprise; for others, the BJP’s triumph was a vindication of their belief in the government and its policies. Irrespective of one’s political standpoint, one thing was beyond dispute: this was a landmark verdict, one that deserved to be reported and analysed with intelligence – and without bias. This book does that and seeks to answer the questions – what was it that gave Modi an edge over the opposition for the second time in five years? How was the BJP able to trounce its rivals in states that were once Congress bastions? What was the core issue in the election: a development agenda or national pride? As he relives the excitement of the many twists and turns that took place over the last five years, culminating in the 2019 election results, the author helps the reader make sense of the contours and characteristics of a rapidly changing India, its politics and its newsmakers.
About the Speakers:
Rajdeep Sardesai is a senior journalist, author, columnist and news presenter with more than thirty years’ experience in print and television news. He is currently a consulting editor with the TV Today Network and anchors a flagship prime-time show. Rajdeep has won several awards for journalistic excellence. He received the Padma Shri in 2008. He is the author of three previous books: 2014: The Election That Changed India; Democracy’s XI: The Great Indian Cricket Story; and Newsman: Tracking India in the Modi Era.
Pradeep Chhibber is Professor of Political Science and the Indo-American Community Chair of India Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He studies party systems, party aggregation, and the politics of India. His research examines the relationship between social divisions and party competition and conditions that lead to the emergence of national or regional parties in a nation-state.
Rahul Verma is a Fellow at CPR. He is also a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of California at Berkeley, and his doctoral dissertation examines the historical roots of elite persistence in contemporary Indian politics. His book, Ideology and Identity: The Changing Party Systems of India (OUP: New York, 2018) co-authored with Pradeep Chhibber develops a new approach to defining the contours of what constitutes an ideology in multi-ethnic countries such as India.
Yamini Aiyar is the President and Chief Executive of CPR. Her research interests are in the field of social policy and development. In 2008, Yamini founded the Accountability Initiative at CPR. Under her leadership, the Accountability Initiative has produced significant research in the areas of governance, state capacity and social policy. She is a TED fellow and a founding member of the International Experts Panel of the Open Government Partnership. She has also been a member of the World Economic Forum’s global council on good governance
The full talk will be live-streamed on CPR’s Facebook page.
This panel discussion is supported by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung – South Asia.
Please RSVP at president.cpr@cprindia.org. The seating at the venue can accommodate up to 60 people on a first come first serve basis.
