Political Alliances

Growing protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, closer coordination among opposition parties and concerns over inflation, unemployment and rural distress are creating fresh challenges for the BJP ahead of key Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi's coordination is being tested by competing candidates in Maharashtra's Legislative Council elections, highlighting the difficulties of maintaining unity among opposition parties.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has used the latest Rajya Sabha nomination arithmetic to project an “80-20” political contest ahead of the 2027 Assembly election.

Punjab Election 2027 preparations have entered an active phase, with the BJP making the drug menace the central theme of its statewide campaign through a 4,000-km Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra. AAP is responding by highlighting its governance record and grassroots outreach, while SAD is also using the drug issue in its Punjab Bachao and women-focused campaigns.

Manipur politics is intensifying ahead of the 2027 Assembly election as the Centre defers the Census amid demands for an NRC first, bringing citizenship, migration, displacement and electoral delimitation into the centre of the political debate.

The Goa voter-roll controversy has focused attention on 97 voters who were found eligible but were left out of the final roll during the SIR process. The Goa CEO later said many of the cases had been enrolled separately through Form 6, while the remaining cases were being processed, as opposition parties and the state government continued to present different views on the wider voter-roll issue.

The Centre has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA, across most of Manipur for another six months from October 1, 2026, while excluding areas under 13 police stations in five districts. The decision comes amid continuing security concerns and ahead of the 2027 Manipur Assembly election.

Punjab’s 2027 Assembly contest is taking shape around competing campaigns on governance, welfare, drugs, agriculture and regional politics. AAP has begun a door-to-door campaign highlighting its government’s record, while BJP is conducting an anti-drug yatra across the state. At the same time, Congress, SAD and Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) are working to expand their organisational and political space ahead of the election.

Punjab’s 2027 political contest is increasingly centred on the drug crisis, with major parties using the issue to challenge rivals and strengthen their voter outreach. The BJP and SAD are pursuing separate anti-drug campaigns, while AAP and Congress are focusing on governance, past government records and the wider trafficking network.

The AAP-GFP alliance adds a new element to Goa’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 Assembly election, with both parties presenting a separate platform from the BJP and Congress. The alliance’s political significance will depend on how it develops its constituency-level organisation, candidate strategy and policy agenda in the months ahead. The emerging three-way political dynamic makes alliance developments, campaign issues and voter outreach important areas to watch as the election approaches.

A tragic incident in Telangana has sparked anger among State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) employees after a 24-year-old woman bus conductor, Gundla Pravalika, died following an alleged attack by a passenger. The conductor, who was seriously injured after being pushed out of a moving bus during an argument over ticket change, succumbed to her injuries after nearly ten days of treatment.

Karnataka's latest bus fare hike has triggered a political controversy across the state, with opposition parties strongly criticising the Congress government over the increased financial burden on ordinary passengers. The revised fares for state-run transport corporations have come into effect from midnight on November 4, making bus journeys more expensive for thousands of daily commuters.