ISAS Insights

The results of the Assembly elections in five Indian states - Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram – were announced on 11 December 2018. The Congress will form the government in the three Hindi heartland states – Chhattisgarh, MP and Rajasthan – while two regional parties, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the Mizo National Front (MNF), won resounding victories in Telangana and Mizoram respectively. The results were a blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was in power in Chhattisgarh, MP and Rajasthan, and a huge boost for the Congress. The BJP still remains the frontrunner to form the central government in 2019. The recent Assembly elections have, however, given the opposition significant momentum and made the BJP’s task that much more difficult in the 2019 general elections.