The India Power Atlas
Part VIII · The State
Chapter 31

Police and Central Agencies

Arena 7.3 · weight 1 · reading 84.7 · aligned majority

31.1Scope

Enforcement capacity.1

The arena is measured by police personnel commanded (state police, Union-run police, central armed police and agencies) and police budgets controlled.

Principal evidence: Agencies, police and executive control (M8).

31.2Significance

Law and order, investigations, protest policing. Borrowed power that leaves when the BJP leaves office.

31.3Indicators and weights

Table 31.1 lists the 2 indicators of the arena, the weight of each within the arena, and each indicator’s reading (the Hindutva-aligned share, from 0 to 100).

Table 31.1. Indicators of arena 7.3

IndicatorWeightReading
Personnel commanded (state police, CAPF, agencies)0.8084.5
Police budget controlled, 2026-270.2085.3
Arena reading1.0084.7

31.4Reading

The arena reads 84.7, 34.7 points above parity, and is classified as aligned majority (a reading of 60 or above). With a weight of 1 of a total 107.7, it contributes 0.79 points to the composite reading of 45.7.

Figure 31.1. Readings of arena 7.3 by indicator
050100
Personnel commanded (state police, CAPF, agencies)84.5
Police budget controlled, 2026-2785.3
Arena reading84.7
Hindutva-alignedOpposed

Each bar divides the indicator between Hindutva-aligned (left) and opposed (right) holdings. The vertical rule marks parity.

31.5Measures and exhibits

The exhibits below are the Atlas’s own views of the data behind each measure: shares by side, the largest units, breakdowns by source, recipient and country, money-flow diagrams and time series. Full row-level ledgers are in the data file (Appendix D).

Measure 1. Personnel commanded (state police, CAPF, agencies)

Reading 84.6%

State police in NDA-run states + Union-run police, CAPF and RPF (10.2 lakh; NSG and NDRF, which are deputationists, left out) and CBI/NIA staff while the Union is held.

Figure 31.2. Indians by who governs their state, % of people
BJP CM 73.4 % · 73.4%NDA ally 4.34 % · 4.3%INDIA bloc 14.5 % · 14.5%Other party 7.74 % · 7.7%
Data table
%Share
BJP CM73.473.4%
NDA ally4.344.3%
INDIA bloc14.514.5%
Other party7.747.7%
Figure 31.3. States by population, % of Indians
Uttar Pradesh17.1
Bihar9.29
Maharashtra9.08
West Bengal7.06
Madhya Pradesh6.3
Rajasthan5.88
Tamil Nadu5.45
Gujarat5.2
Karnataka4.84
Andhra Pradesh3.77
Odisha3.14
Jharkhand2.88
Telangana2.71
Assam2.58
Kerala2.54
Haryana2.2
Punjab2.2
Chhattisgarh2.19
Delhi (NCT)1.58
Jammu and Kashmir (UT)0.98
Uttarakhand0.84
Himachal Pradesh0.53
Tripura0.3
Meghalaya0.24
Manipur0.23
Nagaland0.16
Puducherry (UT)0.12
Arunachal Pradesh0.11
Goa0.11
Mizoram0.09
BJP CMNDA allyINDIA blocOther party
Data table
%Side
Uttar Pradesh17.1BJP CM
Bihar9.29BJP CM
Maharashtra9.08BJP CM
West Bengal7.06BJP CM
Madhya Pradesh6.3BJP CM
Rajasthan5.88BJP CM
Tamil Nadu5.45Other party
Gujarat5.2BJP CM
Karnataka4.84INDIA bloc
Andhra Pradesh3.77NDA ally
Odisha3.14BJP CM
Jharkhand2.88INDIA bloc
Telangana2.71INDIA bloc
Assam2.58BJP CM
Kerala2.54INDIA bloc
Haryana2.2BJP CM
Punjab2.2Other party
Chhattisgarh2.19BJP CM
Delhi (NCT)1.58BJP CM
Jammu and Kashmir (UT)0.98INDIA bloc
Uttarakhand0.84BJP CM
Himachal Pradesh0.53INDIA bloc
Tripura0.3BJP CM
Meghalaya0.24NDA ally
Manipur0.23BJP CM
Nagaland0.16NDA ally
Puducherry (UT)0.12NDA ally
Arunachal Pradesh0.11BJP CM
Goa0.11BJP CM
Mizoram0.09Other party
Figure 31.4. Hindutva-aligned vs opposed, counted rows (persons (thousand))
Hindutva-aligned 11,20,958 persons (thousand) · 78.8%Opposed 3,02,478 persons (thousand) · 21.2%Transactional 0 persons (thousand) · 0.0%Neutral / not counted 0 persons (thousand) · 0.0%
Data table
persons (thousand)Share
Hindutva-aligned11,20,95878.8%
Opposed3,02,47821.2%
Transactional00.0%
Neutral / not counted00.0%
Figure 31.5. The 15 biggest of 36 (persons (thousand))
Uttar Pradesh: population under police control2,42,859
Bihar: population under police control1,32,265
Maharashtra: population under police control1,29,308
West Bengal: population under police control1,00,522
Madhya Pradesh: population under police control89,673
Rajasthan: population under police control83,642
Tamil Nadu: population under police control77,546
Gujarat: population under police control74,086
Karnataka: population under police control68,962
Andhra Pradesh: population under police control53,709
Odisha: population under police control44,677
Jharkhand: population under police control40,958
Telangana: population under police control38,636
Assam: population under police control36,717
Kerala: population under police control36,207
Hindutva-alignedOpposed
Data table
persons (thousand)Side
Uttar Pradesh: population under police control2,42,859Hindutva-aligned
Bihar: population under police control1,32,265Hindutva-aligned
Maharashtra: population under police control1,29,308Hindutva-aligned
West Bengal: population under police control1,00,522Hindutva-aligned
Madhya Pradesh: population under police control89,673Hindutva-aligned
Rajasthan: population under police control83,642Hindutva-aligned
Tamil Nadu: population under police control77,546Opposed
Gujarat: population under police control74,086Hindutva-aligned
Karnataka: population under police control68,962Opposed
Andhra Pradesh: population under police control53,709Hindutva-aligned
Odisha: population under police control44,677Hindutva-aligned
Jharkhand: population under police control40,958Opposed
Telangana: population under police control38,636Opposed
Assam: population under police control36,717Hindutva-aligned
Kerala: population under police control36,207Opposed
Figure 31.6. Hindutva-aligned vs opposed, counted rows (personnel)
Hindutva-aligned 26,96,695 personnel · 84.6%Opposed 4,92,166 personnel · 15.4%Transactional 0 personnel · 0.0%Neutral / not counted 0 personnel · 0.0%
Data table
personnelShare
Hindutva-aligned26,96,69584.6%
Opposed4,92,16615.4%
Transactional00.0%
Neutral / not counted00.0%
Figure 31.7. The 15 biggest of 46 (personnel)
Uttar Pradesh: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)3,18,478
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)3,00,223
Border Security Force (BSF)2,58,626
Maharashtra: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)2,07,035
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)1,50,523
Tamil Nadu: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)1,23,282
Madhya Pradesh: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)1,07,183
West Bengal: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)1,05,374
Bihar: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)1,02,454
Rajasthan: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)96,638
Karnataka: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)95,521
Gujarat: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)94,852
Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)90,312
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)88,863
Andhra Pradesh: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)88,514
Hindutva-alignedOpposed
Data table
personnelSide
Uttar Pradesh: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)3,18,478Hindutva-aligned
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)3,00,223Hindutva-aligned
Border Security Force (BSF)2,58,626Hindutva-aligned
Maharashtra: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)2,07,035Hindutva-aligned
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)1,50,523Hindutva-aligned
Tamil Nadu: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)1,23,282Opposed
Madhya Pradesh: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)1,07,183Hindutva-aligned
West Bengal: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)1,05,374Hindutva-aligned
Bihar: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)1,02,454Hindutva-aligned
Rajasthan: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)96,638Hindutva-aligned
Karnataka: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)95,521Opposed
Gujarat: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)94,852Hindutva-aligned
Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)90,312Hindutva-aligned
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)88,863Hindutva-aligned
Andhra Pradesh: state/UT police (Civil+DAR+Armed+IRB)88,514Hindutva-aligned

Measure 2. Police budget controlled, 2026-27

Reading 85.3%

MHA police demand ₹1.70 lakh cr (less police modernisation grants, counted in state budgets) + police budgets of NDA states.

Figure 31.8. Hindutva-aligned vs opposed, counted rows (₹ crore)
Hindutva-aligned 3,46,537 ₹ crore · 84.6%Opposed 63,047 ₹ crore · 15.4%Transactional 0 ₹ crore · 0.0%Neutral / not counted 0 ₹ crore · 0.0%
Data table
₹ croreShare
Hindutva-aligned3,46,53784.6%
Opposed63,04715.4%
Transactional00.0%
Neutral / not counted00.0%
Figure 31.9. The 15 biggest of 43 (₹ crore)
Uttar Pradesh: state police budget41,898
CRPF38,518
Maharashtra: state police budget33,700
BSF29,568
Bihar: state police budget16,840
CISF (net of recoveries)15,974
West Bengal: state police budget14,278
Tamil Nadu: state police budget13,323
Madhya Pradesh: state police budget12,720
Karnataka: state police budget12,547
Delhi Police (MHA)12,504
Rajasthan: state police budget11,729
Telangana: state police budget11,353
ITBP11,324
SSB10,985
Hindutva-alignedOpposed
Data table
₹ croreSide
Uttar Pradesh: state police budget41,898Hindutva-aligned
CRPF38,518Hindutva-aligned
Maharashtra: state police budget33,700Hindutva-aligned
BSF29,568Hindutva-aligned
Bihar: state police budget16,840Hindutva-aligned
CISF (net of recoveries)15,974Hindutva-aligned
West Bengal: state police budget14,278Hindutva-aligned
Tamil Nadu: state police budget13,323Opposed
Madhya Pradesh: state police budget12,720Hindutva-aligned
Karnataka: state police budget12,547Opposed
Delhi Police (MHA)12,504Hindutva-aligned
Rajasthan: state police budget11,729Hindutva-aligned
Telangana: state police budget11,353Opposed
ITBP11,324Hindutva-aligned
SSB10,985Hindutva-aligned

31.6Evidence base

The arena rests on 145 coded units. Of the units and flows, 113 are coded Hindutva-aligned, 31 opposed and 1 neutral, mixed or transactional. By source grade: 129 grade A, 15 grade C, 1 grade D.

The full set of rows for this arena, each with its source, is in the Atlas data file (Appendix D).

Notes

  1. MHA; Atlas M8. ↩