New Delhi As the Election Commission of India (ECI) sets the tone for a hectic electoral process starting April, Dhrubo Jyoti maps the stakes in the four states heading to polls.
West Bengal is one of India’s most politically important states but also one that has only been ruled by two parties for the past six decades. As West Bengal heads to the polls, history beckons Mamata Banerjee who is vying for a fourth term in what is the most-watched elections in this term.
Tamil Nadu, five years ago, when the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) stormed to power in Tamil Nadu after being shut out for a decade, it seemed that the party was set to dominate one of India’s most-prosperous states for an extended period.
Kerala is the only state controlled by the Left, which has failed to expand anywhere else in the country or capture its previous fortresses of West Bengal or Tripura.
Assam has been shaped in the image of the chief minister like no other state in India. Himanta Biswa Sarma attempts to don many hats – master strategist, protector of the indigenous Assamese, able administrator and polemical leader.
The elections are going to be a referendum on the five-year-rule of the man who has delivered the Northeast to the BJP but has also alienated a substantial chunk of his own state with his controversial comments about undocumented migrants.
