The outcome of the ensung polls, especially in Bengal, will also provide answer to an oft-asked question—will political equations in India change with the protesting farmers laying siege to Delhi for the last several weeks? Will the issue of NRC and CAA will take the centre-stage?
Upcoming elections in five states including West Bengal and Assam are important not only for the two major national parties—BJP and Congress—but also regional parties like Mamta Bannerjee-led Trinamool Congress. In fact the Bengal battle is being seen as the piece de resistance of these elections which may decide the future course of national politics.
The outcome of the polls, especially in Bengal, will also provide answer to an oft-asked question—will political equations in India change with the protesting farmers laying siege to Delhi for the last several weeks?
In Assam the issue of National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will take the centre-stage.
These issues had triggered agitations across country. The provisions were painted as a planned conspiracy against the minorities and led to the Shaheen Bagh agitation.
With the discontent arising from the continuous influx of Bangladeshi immigrants, Assam was expected to welcome the laws but soon it was clear that natives of Assam could also be affected by the laws.
It’s going to be a battle between BJP and Congress in Assam. Like most other states in Assam, too, the country’s oldest party is struggling. It faces the challenge being thrown by BJP’s majoritarian politics. This is going to be an interesting battle.
West Bengal battle is what is being billed as the clash of titans. Mamta Banerjee is an aggressive leader and will go all out to save her decade-old rule. The BJP is not leaving any stones unturned to win this war . BJP veteran, Kailash Vijayvargiya has managed to bring a number of political heavyweights close to Banerjee under the saffron flag. But BJP has to cross many hurdles before it can sniff victory.
As for Kerala in the last 40 years, the Left-led LDF or the Congress-led UDF have been ruling the state, alternatively. Congress’s prince charming, Rahul Gandhi also represents the Wayanad seat in the Lok Sabha. So the Congress is hopeful here, but the performance of the Left alliance has been very good over the last five years. The Congress and the Left both are fighting with each other here, but elsewhere in the country they are fighting together.
In Tamil Nadu for the first time when veterans like Jayalalithaa or Karunanidhi will not be physically present in the electoral landscape. In the last elections, Karunanidhi had started handing over the reins of the DMK to M.K. Stalin but Jayalalithaa was still at the helm of the AIADMK. This time, though AIADMK is in power but the party is being torn by infighting. The way Jayalalithaa’s companion Sasikala was welcomed after her release from the Bengaluru jail has further complicating the situation.
These states are also important as far as numbers in the Lok Sabha is concerned. Though the battle for the power in Delhi is far away the results of elections in these states will certainly have an impact on national politics. So these polls are crucial for all the stakeholders.
