War of the Hills

The polls will be the biggest test for Harish Rawat, who managed to win a floor test and save his government in May last year. The election will shape his political future. With other senior Congress leaders not in the picture, Rawat, who had to wait for 12 years before the opportunity to become CM knocked on his door, is leading the party’s election chariot. It will be a big boost for the Congress if it manages to retain Uttarakhand.

- Nilabh Krishna

The Election Commission has announced the dates for the Assembly elections in five states, omitting as of now the crucial election of Gujarat which too is due this year. With over 16 crore voters participating in the various Assembly polls, it’s bound to have a major impact in the long run.

The tumultuous politics of the five states undergoing elections this year – Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur – is sure to nudge the uncertain times towards a certain political direction, either away or towards the centralising force of the Narendra Modi led BJP, or the still weakly coalescing opposition to it.

While the individual states have widely differing political climates, with regional stronghold of Samajwadi Party in UP, Congress trying its best to hold on to Uttarakhand, while BJP trying its best to offset the influence of the resurgent AAP in Goa and Punjab, 2017 poll outcomes may show a tilt towards a particular political end, which is either to reinforce the BJP’s hold all over India, or to significantly challenge it by solidifying the regional political camps.

Assembly polls in tiny hill state of Uttarakhand are apparently less about issues and more about personalities and cult. The outcome will depend on the political acumen of the major players – the ruling Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Largely, it will be a direct fight between Congress and BJP. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has a base in a few pockets in the plain areas and could dent the prospects of candidates from the other two parties.