Post 2014, since the advent of Narendra Modi phenomenn at the national stage, every single election, held ever since, has assumed a different proportion. Even as the BJP under him is fixated on electoral victories using all possible means available and with a grand success rate, every poll, nevertheless, has a different connotation and meaning so far as the national polity is concerned. And every election is different from the previous one though all electoral battles are woven mostly around Modi-factor which is the BJP’s sole winning formula.

However, the current round of assembly elections being held in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry are not only being held on a different political canvas but also attached to it is the possible future contours that electoral politics can take in the run up to the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. What makes this round of elections interesting, both from the BJP and Congress-led I.N.D.I.A combine point of view, is the strong potential to strengthen or weaken any of the two camps.

The significance of this round of elections lies in the fact that three of the poll-going states – Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal – are ruled by the opposition alliances, variedly led by one or the other regional parties. Assam, though, is governed by the BJP but it has a strong imprint of former Congresspersons and smaller regional or sub-regional groups. The overwhelming influence of the ex-Congress leaders and sidelining of the committed saffronites has caused serious consternation within the BJP, heightened by the high-handed approach and over-bearing presence of chief minister Mr Himanta Biswa Sarma, a former Congressman himself.

In politically........

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