India’s ruling party will resist creating new states

Subject

Agitations in India to create new states.

Significance

Home Minister Rajnath Singh last month negotiated an end to a 104-day protest by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which had sought the excision of a separate Gorkhaland from West Bengal state. India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has historically been a strong advocate of state-led development and even new states, but its willingness to redraw the map of India is declining.

Impacts

• Darjeeling’s tea industry may continue to suffer losses in the short term but will recover thereafter.
• The Goods and Services Tax (GST) should improve states’ fiscal balances in the long term.
• The BJP may step up efforts to promote the Hindi language across India.