Who’s in Power And Where? The Changing Face of Indian Politics

Here’s a map that shows political power’s changes India since March 2018.

As political parties in Maharashtra near an end to what can easily be called a tug of war for power in the state, it has become clear that for the time being at least, BJP will have to relinquish its hold over the state. The NDA government in the state, between BJP and Shiv Sena, has broken and instead, the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena have formed an alliance called the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

As Maharashtra finds a new government, here’s a look at how the BJP, or an NDA partnership, has performed in states during their respective Legislative Assembly polls, taking March 2018 as the starting point, till present day, a period of 20 months.

Here’s a map that shows the changing face of Indian politics since March 2018.

• Maharashtra: The state saw a whirlwind of dramatic developments since the polls took place in October 2019. While the National Democratic Alliance of the BJP and Shiv Sena alliance won a majority, differences between them prevented them from staking claim to the government. Ajit Pawar, leader of NCP briefly joined forces with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis, the incumbent CM, to stake claim to the government, but despite being sworn in, both resigned amid high drama. Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress then combined forces to stake claim to the government, declaring Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray their CM choice, and bringing an end to the NDA government in the state.
  
• Karnataka: Karnataka was led by the incumbent-Congress government, but in the legislative Assembly elections held in May 2018, BJP emerged as the single largest party. Despite Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) having a post-result alliance, BJP, under the leadership of BS Yeddiyurappa, formed the government. However, he resigned ten minutes before the trust vote, giving Congress-JD(S) the chance to form the government, with HD Kumaraswamy as the chief minister. However, this coalition government collapsed in July 2019, and BJP's Yeddiyurapa took oath as CM of Karnataka again.
  
• Madhya Pradesh: Madhya Pradesh went to polls in November 2018, in what was a direct political battle between Congress and BJP. The incumbent BJP government, with Shivraj Singh Chouhan as CM, hoped to cling to power, but with Congress emerging as the single largest party. Congress' Kamal Nath became the new CM of the state.

• Rajasthan: BJP-led Rajasthan went to polls in December 2018. BJP's Vasundhara Raje was leading the government as CM. However, after the polls, Congress emerged as the single largest party with 100 seats, while BJP was able to win only 73 seats. The Congress formed the government in the state, with Ashok Gehlot taking over the post of CM.
  
• Chhattisgarh: Chhattisgarh, a BJP-led state, went to polls in two phases in November 2018. The Congress registered a landslide victory in the state, winning 68 seats, while BJP was able to manage only 15. Incumbent CM Raman Singh resigned, taking responsibility for the BJP's defeat, and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel took his place as CM of the state.
  
• Mizoram: Mizoram also went to polls in November 2018. The state, which was previously governed by a Congress-led government under CM Lal Thanhawla, came into the hands of the NDA alliance between the Mizo National Front and the BJP in the state. The Mizo National Front won 26 seats, the BJP won one, while the Congress, which previously held 34 seats, went down to 5 seats. MNF's Zoramthanga became the CM of the state, which now falls under NDA-governed states.

• Haryana: Haryana, which was a BJP-led state since the 2014 polls, went to polls in October 2019. While Congress, which had lost badly to the BJP in the previous polls, made a stunning comeback, the latter was still able to emerge as the single largest party. Forming a post-poll alliance with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) and seven other independent MLAs, BJP has propped up an NDA government in the state. BJP's Manohar Lal Khattar is the CM, while JJP's Dushyant Chautala was given the post of Deputy CM.
  
• Arunachal Pradesh: Arunachal Pradesh, which had been won by Congress in the Assembly elections in 2014, saw a change in its government when 33 of its 44 MLAs led by Chief Minister Pema Khandu first joined the PPA and then merged into the BJP in 2016 to form the government. In the legislative Assembly polls held in May 2019, BJP and its allies won a landslide victory, forming an NDA government in the state.
  
• Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu is a state governed by AIADMK, which won the last legislative Assembly elections held in 2016. However, since 2019, Tamil Nadu can be seen falling in the category of an NDA state, because AIADMK aligned with BJP, DMDK and PMK in 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.