Assembly elections are going to be held in five states in India in the next few weeks – Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. These four states and one union territory together account for about one-fifth of the country’s population. That means about 20 crore people live in these places. Together their population is about 17-18 percent of the total population of the country. 116 MPs are elected from here in the Lok Sabha, which is about 21 percent of the total 543 seats. In the Rajya Sabha also, the MLAs of these states together send 51 members (about 21 percent), who are elected by the members of the Legislative Assembly. This means that the influence of the parties that win these elections will increase significantly in Parliament.
Why is this election special for BJP?
Right now the situation is such that BJP and NDA are strong at the centre. After the 2024 Lok Sabha, BJP has won big in states like Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra and Bihar, but out of these five places, only in Assam is the NDA government. In Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma is the Chief Minister, in the remaining four the opposition is strong. Mamata Banerjee’s TMC in West Bengal, MK Stalin’s DMK in Tamil Nadu, Pinarayi Vijayan’s LDF in Kerala and N. Rangaswami’s AINRC-BJP alliance is in power.
BJP party wants to expand its presence in South India and East. BJP has never got government in Tamil Nadu and Kerala till now. In West Bengal in 2021, TMC won 215 seats, BJP got 77. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP had won 303 seats i.e. 56 percent, but this success did not spread across the country. BJP did not get even a single seat in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Got only 18 seats in West Bengal.
Now BJP is giving the slogan of double engine government (same alliance in both center and state). BJP MP Bhola Singh has said that where there is no double engine, PM Modi’s schemes do not reach the people. For this reason, double engine government is necessary, due to which development will be four times faster.
This election is a fight for survival for the opposition too.
Congress and INDIA alliance wants to remain strong in these states. DMK leaders like Dayanidhi Maran are saying that PM Modi finally allowed the Election Commission to announce the dates. Opposition leaders like Sanjay Raut are taunting the Election Commission that it has become an extended branch of BJP.
VIDEO | Mumbai, Maharashtra: “EC can address presser from BJP headquarters as an extended branch of party,” says Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on EC’s presser to declare assembly poll dates.
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/1MXJworvAK
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 15, 2026
BJP is strong in Assam, but issues like CAA and NRC are still hot. There will be a tough fight between TMC and BJP in West Bengal, where there have been allegations of violence and post-poll violence. There is an old war of DMK vs AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, BJP is in alliance with AIADMK. The Left Front is trying to save power in Kerala for the third time. However, this never happened in the state. Puducherry is small but coalition politics is interesting here too.
ECI took stock of preparations in election states
The Election Commission visited all the states in the last weeks. Preparations were reviewed in Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in February, Kerala on 6-7 March and West Bengal on 9-10 March. During these tours, meetings were held with political parties, police and administration and the focus was on stopping violence, improving voter list, EVM-VVPAT checking and CAPF deployment. At the same time, the deadline for appeal of voter list is ending today. Reports are saying that this time the number of stages may be less. There were 8 phases in Bengal in 2021, now maybe 5-6 will be left. Voting is expected to take place in April-May, the results may come in early May.
According to experts, these elections are not just about changing power, but will also tell how far BJP can progress in the South and East. How united is the opposition able to remain and how do political forces become stronger or weaker before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. After the press conference of the Election Commission, there will be an election fire in the country. Parties will start rallies, manifestos and allegations and counter-allegations. Let’s see who wins and in which direction the country’s politics goes.
