ANOTHER CLIMATE CHANGE INDICATOR: WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD?

February 17, 2021

On February 7th, a sudden massive flood completely devastated a Himalayan valley in the state of Uttarakhand, tearing through two hydroelectric dams, killing at least 56 people while more than 150 are still missing. As a result of the flood, there has been massive flooding in Chamoli district- the Rishiganga...

DMK & AIADMK: WHICH CASTE GROUPS WILL VOTE FOR THEM?

January 27, 2021

The AIADMK at present banks on its strongholds in districts such as Salem, Coimbatore, Theni, parts of Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri. DMK on the other hand is focusing on its traditional strongholds but also on AIADMK’s strongholds in the state. The DMK launched its campaign from Salem which shows that their...

TWO-FACED BATTLE IN DRAVIDIAN HEARTLAND: AIADMK VERSUS DMK

January 27, 2021

In the past week, dominant regional and national parties have embarked on the campaign trail in Tamil Nadu. The Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu are set to be held in April or May this year, and the Election Commission has released the final electoral rolls for the state already. As...

DECODING UP ASSEMBLY POLLS AND THE CURRENT GROUND SITUATION IN STATE

January 20, 2021

Lately news coverage has been dominated by the upcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal. Along with this, we have seen coverage about national parties (and other parties) and the preparations they are making to gear up for elections in another part of the country: Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh Assembly...

HOW DID BJP BECOME A FORCE TO RECKON WITH IN WEST BENGAL?

January 13, 2021

With the West Bengal Assembly elections dates due to be announced any day now, the political battleground in the state has heated up. Although the election will be a three-way contest between the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left Front (in alliance with the Indian National...

TAMIL NADU’S TRYST WITH CINEMA AND POLITICS

January 6, 2021

In Tamil Nadu, movies and politics have had a very close association in the past, as two of the state’s former Chief Ministers Dr. M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa (AIADMK) were both actors. Another late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, started his career writing films and dialogues for movies. During his...

IS THE CINEMA-POLITICS CONNECT STILL STRONG IN TAMIL NADU?

January 6, 2021

As 2020 drew to a close, so did the political ambitions of superstar actor Rajinikanth. However, what is interesting is that this journey ended without having ever started, as Rajinikanth never officially entered the arena of Tamil Nadu politics. After a wait of nearly three decades, on December 3rd 2020,...

WHY DO EXIT POLLS GENERALLY GO WRONG?

December 9, 2020

Exit polling in India has its own set of challenges. The population, demographic variation, and multi-party political system are a few factors, among many, presenting hurdles to effective exit polling. It is important to note that conducting an accurate exit poll predicted seat share in India requires a carefully drafted...

ANALYSING BIHAR ELECTIONS 2020: EXIT POLLS VS PEOPLE’S VERDICT

December 9, 2020

NEW DELHI: The third phase of voting in the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly ended on 7 November. Counting for votes began on 10 November and the Janata Dal (United) and BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) crossed the majority mark of 122 as the counting stretched beyond midnight. All the exit...