Overview
- After sweeping Delhi and Bihar in 2025, the BJP carries momentum into the new year, with working president Nitin Nabin expected to take formal charge in the first half of 2026.
- West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry head to the polls in April–May, setting regional tests that will gauge BJP gains and the Opposition’s relevance.
- Congress outlines a welfare-focused, grassroots strategy and tight voter-roll scrutiny but faces factional strains and weak alliances, with nationwide G-RAM-G protests slated to start on January 5.
- Political tempers are high following passage of the Waqf Bill, the SHANTI Act and G-RAM-G, as a joint parliamentary committee’s report on synchronised elections is anticipated later in the year.
- India’s first fully digital Census in 16 years begins in 2026 with caste enumeration, sharpening debate on future delimitation and representation.