On October 21, 1951, the foundation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which claims to be the largest party in the country, was laid. Staying at the center for the last 9 years, it has become the first non-Congress party to make a record, but the party's beginning has not been easy. BJP, which gained majority to reach the Centre, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership has also seen a phase when the party could win only 2 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. The journey of BJP started from 1951 when Dr. Shyamaprasad Mukherjee founded Bharatiya Jana Sangh in Delhi.

It was after the emergency of 1975–1977, the Jana Sangh merged with several other political parties to form the Janata Party.