How high GDP growth failed to fetch electoral gains for the BJP

[andhra_jp]

India is experiencing a jobs crisis, intensifying the impact of rising prices.

Numerous signs indicated that the lack of decent jobs was a significant issue.

This should not have been surprising, as official data revealed that while GDP, or economic output, quickly rebounded after Covid, 
it was not matched by corresponding growth in higher-quality formal jobs.

The increase in the number of self-employed individuals is the clearest sign of insufficient job openings.

In India, a high proportion of self-employed workers indicates a weak link between GDP growth and the creation of formal jobs.

The number of self-employed people has also increased between 2020 and 2021.

This rise in unpaid work since the pandemic shows that many did not benefit from GDP growth.

Agriculture employment

Nearly 46 of every 100 Indians working in 2022-23 were employed in agriculture, a higher proportion than before Covid.

Due to the scarcity of job openings, many who returned to villages during lockdowns could not access better opportunities, 
leaving them stuck in agriculture, the lowest-paying and most precarious sector.
Regional disparities

In regions where the BJP lost seats, such as eastern UP, north Karnataka, and east Maharashtra — poorer areas of their states — the GDP growth trajectory bypassed many.

With stagnant incomes, the impact of inflation worsened, even if it was not high by historical standards.