What explains the meteoric rise of the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in India in the last four decades, from niche regional force to dominant national party? This paper connects satellite imagery-based estimates of urban extent over time to electoral returns at the parliamentary constituency level to provide evidence that long-term urbanization has driven the rise of the BJP. Additional analysis of granular polling station-level data shows that, comparing between spatially proximate areas, the BJP receives more support in urban versus rural neighborhoods. We discuss potential mechanisms behind this relationship, including the role of urban party networks, social anomie, and class structure. The findings provide evidence that long-term processes of economic modernization can unexpectedly have illiberal domestic political consequences.