Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party have tightened their grip on Indian politics, raising concerns that the country is drifting toward a de facto single-party state. After years of chipping away at rivals, the party recently captured West Bengal, a major and long-standing opposition stronghold, further weakening the fragmented opposition.

The once-dominant Congress party now holds fewer than 100 seats in the 543-member Parliament and governs only a handful of states. Regional parties had served as the main counterweight to Modi, but a string of state-level victories since 2024 has steadily eroded their power. Even after a weaker-than-expected national showing that forced Modi into coalition government, his party regrouped and focused intensely on local campaigning and bread-and-butter issues.

Opponents accuse the government of using state institutions and election oversight to sideline critics and disproportionately target Muslim voters, though the party's recent wins have often been decisive. With vast financial resources and a formidable ground operation, the Bharatiya Janata Party has become an election-winning machine.

As smaller parties dwindle and political competition fades, the pluralistic vision championed by India’s first prime minister after independence appears increasingly distant. With the next national election set for 2029, questions remain about whether any meaningful challenger to Modi will emerge — and what kind of democracy India will be by then.