Challenging dominant parties issue ownership a study of the religious parties the BJP and the PAS

CHALLENGING DOMINANT PARTIES’ ISSUE OWNERSHIP
A STUDY OF THE RELIGIOUS PARTIES THE BJP AND THE PAS

MUHAMAD YUSRI BIN MOHAMED SUPIYAN
(B. Social Sciences (Hons.)), NUS

A THESIS SUBMITTED
FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
2013

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the thesis is my original work and it has been
written by me in its entirety.
I have duly acknowledged all the sources of information which have
been used in the thesis.
This thesis has also not been submitted for any degree in any
university previously.

_________________
Muhamad Yusri Bin Mohamed Supiyan
13 November 2013

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Acknowledgements
Researching and writing for this thesis has been a very enriching yet
challenging experience. It would all not have been possible without the support, help
and encouragement from the wonderful and important people around me that I hold
in utmost and dearest regard. First and foremost, I would like to thank my family
members. My mother Yupak has been and will always be the most devoted, loving,
and understanding mother any son could ever wish for. My father Supiyan has been
a wonderful role model for me through all these years. I am greatly indebted to my
sister Sakinah in many ways, no least for taking on my share of the household
chores when I have been very busy. She has been a very kind and understanding
sister to me. This thesis is dedicated to all of three of you.
I would like to convey my most sincere and deepest gratitude to my thesis
supervisor, Dr. Subhasish Ray. He has been nothing but a superb and wonderful
mentor to me. Over the period of a year or so he has guided me through the whole
research and thesis writing process with great kindness and patience. His words of
advice and encouragement have helped me a lot and I truly believe I have learnt a
great deal by being under his tutelage. Many thanks also to the following professors
who have also helped and advised me in one way or another – Dr. Kim Soo-Yeon,
Dr. Janice Bially Mattern, Dr. Hussin Mutalib, and Dr. Han Hee-Jin.
I would also like to convey my appreciation and gratitude to the few good and
close friends that have been there for and with me throughout this whole journey,
with special mention to Walid Jumblatt for proofreading this thesis. I would also like
to convey my most profound gratitude to the Lord Almighty Allah s.w.t.. Without His

Compassion, Grace and Mercy, I would not have been able to complete this thesis.
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Table of Contents
Title Page

i

Declaration Page

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Acknowledgements

v

Abstract

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List of Abbreviations

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List of Tables

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Chapter 1: Introduction

1

Chapter 2: Literature Review and Theoretical Framework

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Chapter 3: The BJP in the 1998 Indian General Elections

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Chapter 4: The PAS in the 2008 Malaysian General Elections

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Chapter 5: Conclusion

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Bibliography

125

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Abstract
In recent decades religion has undergone a renaissance in the arena of politics, and the rise of
religious political parties is a clear manifestation of the increased religionisation of politics. Religious
parties have also come to prominence in polities where dominant political parties are experiencing a
decline. However, their levels of success at the ballot box have varied greatly in spite of such
favourable conditions. Whilst some religious parties have gone on to win elections and form the
government, others have floundered at the polls. This thesis argues that whether the religious party
is able to come to governmental power in functioning democracies depends on its ability to wrest
away issue ownership over ‘national-temporal’ issues of the day from the dominant party in decline.
Relying on an extensive analysis of newspaper reports during the periods of electoral campaigning,
this thesis finds that in 1998 the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to wrest away the ownership
over the issue of economic reforms from the Congress Party of India and consequently win the
elections, whereas in 2008 the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) largely failed to wrest away the
ownership over the issue of the economy from the United Malays National Organisation-led coalition
government. The key element in wresting away issue ownership lies in the religious party’s ability to
recast the discursive debate over an issue in a manner such that it favours the party itself while
simultaneously disadvantaging the dominant party.

Keywords: Religious parties, dominant parties, elections, electoral campaigns, issues, issue
ownership, heresthetics

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List of Abbreviations

ACA
AKP
BJP
BJS
BN
CII
CSDS
DAP
DMK
DPAR
DPDR
FICCI
FIS
GDP
Hindraf
IMF
INC
JD
MCA
MIC
MII
MNC
NEP
NGO
NIP
PAS
PKR
RM
RSS
UF

UMNO
VHP

Anti-Corruption Agency
Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party)
Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People’s Party)
Bharatiya Jana Sangh (Indian People’s Organisation)
Barisan Nasional (National Front)
Confederation of Indian Industry
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
Democratic Action Party
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Dravidian Progress Federation)
Dominant Party Authoritarian Regime
Dominant Party Democratic Regime
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
Front Islamique du Salut (Islamic Salvation Front)
Gross Domestic Product
Hindu Rights Action Force
International Monetary Fund
Indian National Congress
Janata Dal (People’s Party)
Malayan Chinese Association, later on Malaysian Chinese Association
Malayan Indian Congress, later on Malaysian Indian Congress
Malaysian Institute of Integrity
Multi-National Corporation
New Economic Policy
Non-Governmental Organisation
National Integrity Plan
Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party)
Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People’s Justice Party)

Ringgit Malaysia (Malaysian Ringgit)
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Organisation)
United Front
Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu (United Malays National
Organisation)
Vishva Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council)

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List of Tables
Table No.

Name

Page No.

Table 1

Results of the 1998 Indian General Elections

51

Table 2

Breakdown of the Number of Seats Won by the BJP and the

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Congress Party in 1991, 1996, and 1998
Table 3

Breakdown of the Number of Seats Won by the BJP and the

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Congress Party at the State and Territory Level in 1998
Table 4

Breakdown of the Results of the 2008 Malaysian General

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Elections by State Level
Table 5

Breakdown of the Seats Won by the BN, the DAP, the PAS,
and the PKR in 2004 and 2008

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90