2021 ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS: BREAKING DOWN THE VICTORIES AND LOSSES

05 May 2021 02:04 AM IST

WEST BENGAL: DIDI’S THIRD TERM In a widely scrutinized and highly contested battle, incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee led the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) to victory in the 2021 Assembly Elections. Despite having to battle against high anti-incumbency sentiments, electoral machinery of the BJP, and some widely publicised defections

COVID-19 POLL: INDIANS’ APPROVAL OF THE GOVERNMENT’S HANDLING OF THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS DECLINES

28 Apr 2021 03:25 AM IST

In an attempt to capture the country’s sentiment on the coronavirus crisis, Team C-Voter has been conducting a daily tracking poll from March 16th, 2020 among 18+ adults statewide, including every major demographic. The poll asks questions to respondents across the country about their economic and social well being, along

TMC Report Card 2016-2021

17 Apr 2021 00:48 AM IST

POLSTRAT MANIFESTO CHECK WEST BENGAL

CASH FOR VOTES AND EVM HACKING: TRUTH BEHIND ALLEGATIONS

14 Apr 2021 06:47 AM IST

On April 6th, as voting closed for assembly elections in various states in India, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, West Bengal and Assam, reports of clashes between political parties from almost every part of the country came to light. Parties accused each other of buying votes for cash, liquor, freebies

ELECTIONS 2021: BUSTING MYTHS ABOUT ELECTION MALPRACTICES

14 Apr 2021 06:35 AM IST

Elections in India are not run any differently from how the parliament itself runs, covered in allegations between members and parties. While allegations are standard practice of campaigning (indeed politics) and often unfounded, there are many instances of malpractice during elections regardless of the guidelines issued by the Election Commission

HATE SPEECH: VIOLATION OF THE ELECTORAL MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT

14 Apr 2021 06:32 AM IST

One of the first rules of the model code of conduct (MCC), as prescribed by the ECI, is that “no party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic”. In simple

CAN AN EVM REALLY BE HACKED?

14 Apr 2021 06:29 AM IST

During any election in India – whether it is a bypoll, national or state elections, media reports with allegations of voter fraud through malfunctioning electronic voting machines (EVMs) or through the tampering of said EVMs undoubtedly do the rounds. Almost all political parties accuse each other of EVM tampering and

KERALA ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS 2021: THE TUSSLE OF COMMUNITY VOTE-BANKS

07 Apr 2021 08:30 AM IST

Voting for the Assembly Election in Kerala was held in one phase on April 6. The election was a two-pronged contest between the incumbent Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and Indian National Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). Traditionally, the state has never had the same government

UNITY IN DIVERSITY: ANALYSING COMMUNAL VOTING PATTERNS IN GOD’S OWN COUNTRY

07 Apr 2021 08:26 AM IST

Politics in Kerala have churned out governments alternating between the Left Front LDF and the Congress-led UDF every five years since the re-election of late Chief Minister C. Achutha Menon. Although the state has strong communal and caste lines, its community voting patterns have not been loyal to any particular

TRACING THE HISTORY OF ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN WEST BENGAL

31 Mar 2021 05:51 AM IST

NEW DELHI: West Bengal has had a long and complicated relationship with electoral violence. While elections are simultaneously held in five states and Union Territories, if one scans media coverage, it would appear as though elections are only being held in West Bengal. Why is this? Why are all eyes

POLITICS, POWER & ELECTIONS: UNCOVERING ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN WEST BENGAL

31 Mar 2021 05:48 AM IST

At the start of his campaign for the West Bengal Assembly elections in November last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, “Maut ke khel se mat nahi mil sakta (you don’t get votes from bloodshed).” While the Prime Minister did not name the

WILL BJP BE ABLE TO REPEAT HISTORY IN 2021 ELECTIONS?

17 Mar 2021 03:07 AM IST

In a historic win in 2016, the BJP led by Sarbananda Sonowal wrestled power out of the hands of the INC which had formed the government under Tarun Gogoi since 2001. In 2016, the BJP and its ally party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) had successfully dominated upper Assam and northern