What the U.P. and Punjab results mean | In Focus podcast

The BJP’s victories in State Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand are both comprehensive and complete. Its dominance over north India’s most populous and politically significant State has been re-emphasised. The Samajwadi Party fought the good fight but it was no match for the BJP. The Bahujan Samaj Party cut a sorry figure. In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party, a relatively fresh face in the State’s politics, won four-fifths of the seats – making it the second state after Delhi where AAP now has a government. Whether the party is able to advance beyond these two States is a question being posed by analysts and ordinary people alike. In Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand, the BJP managed to buck anti-incumbency and return to power, cutting the Congress to size once again. We discuss the causes and effects of these results in this episode.  Guest: Gilles Verniers teaches politics at Ashoka University and is Co-Director of the Trivedi Centre for Political Data. Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices