AROUND THE WORLD.Hindu Party Retains Power In Indian Elections The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party Bharatiya Janata party (bär`ətēə jän`ətə) [Hindi,=Indian People's party] (BJP), Indian political party that espouses Hindu nationalism. was the big winner in India's national elections on Oct. 7, after pulling together a centrist coalition of 24 parties. Though the BJP BJP Bharatiya Janata Party (India) BJP British Journal of Psychiatry BJP British Journal of Photography BJP Bubble Jet Printer (Canon) BJP Bence Jones Protein BJP Boston Jolly Pirates has long been considered anti-Muslim and part of a Hindu revivalist movement, its leaders were successful in winning new allies in the election by largely abandoning the agenda that had raised the ire of Muslim Muslim (mŭz`lĭm) [Arab.,=one who surrenders (himself to God), an agent form of the verb of which Islam is a verbal noun], one who has embraced Islam, a follower of Muhammad. and secular voters. For example, party officials no longer seek to build a temple on the site of a 16th-century mosque mosque (mŏsk), building for worship used by members of the Islamic faith. Muhammad's house in Medina (A.D. 622), with its surrounding courtyard and hall with columns, became the prototype for the mosque where the faithful gathered for prayer. in Ayodha that was destroyed by Hindu militants in 1992. The BJP victory was not due to increased seats in India's parliament, but rather from new alliances with smaller centrist parties. With nearly all of the votes accounted for, the party had won 294 of Parliament's 543 elected seats. |
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