Article Archives:

Bid For Upper-Caste Quota Shows BJP Govt’s Desperation Before 2019

Reservation policy is the weapon of last resort in Indian politics. Quite akin to a nuclear strike, it leads to an uncontrolled chain reaction; the last time this weapon was wielded by an Indian prime minister, it changed the face

Convicting Sajjan Kumar May Not Hurt Cong, Could Backfire on BJP

1984 was a year of madness. Our nation was engulfed in the fires of religious extremism and political overreach. The nation was at ‘war’ with itself, and Punjab was the focus of particularly violent events. The year ended with the

Electoral jolts in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and MP show that TINA is a comforting illusion on which BJP should not rely

The BJP went into the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with a strong leadership advantage at national and state levels alike. There seemed to be a consensus within and outside the party that the There-Is-No-Alternative (TINA) factor

Elections in Southern India Are Always Different

In the fourth of a five-part series on opinion polls about the forthcoming Indian elections, pollsters concur that regional parties hold sway in the south, but disagree as to seat numbers and the implications for the next national government. South

2019 Opinion Polls: Modi Remains Popular, BJP Flounders in North

(This is the Part III of a series of conversations between psephologists Yogendra Yadav and Yashwant Deshmukh. Read Part I here and Part II here.) Yogendra Yadav: The North is not much of a separate region. It is just that

Might the Congress Make a Comeback in Northern India?

n the third of a five-part series on opinion polls about the forthcoming Indian elections, pollsters agree that the Congress-led coalition is on the ascendant but disagree as to what degree. As election fever heats up, pollsters in India are

BJP Allies Will Suffer Losses in Western India

In the second of a five-part series on opinion polls about the forthcoming Indian elections, pollsters agree that the BJP-led coalition will lose seats but disagree about the scale of the losses. As election fever heats up, pollsters in India

Is the BJP Rising in Eastern India?

In the first of a five-part series on opinion polls about the forthcoming Indian elections, pollsters agree that the BJP-led coalition is poised to make gains in the east of the country. As India goes to the polls in 2019,

2019 Opinion Poll: What Yogendra Yadav Gets Wrong About BJP

It started with a fun-tweet at my end, joking with Prof Yogenadra Yadav that he doesn’t take @cvoterindia’s numbers seriously. I interjected in a conversation between Dr Sanjay Kumar of CSDS and Prof Yadav. Dr Sanjay disagrees with Prof Yadav

Assembly Elections 2018: Cong’s Clear Sway in 2 Out of 5 States

Election season is upon us, and five states are going to polls. In the assembly election fray are Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. Chhattisgarh, in its first phase of assembly elections on Monday, 12 November, saw a 76.28