Overview
- The calendar opens with Mumbai’s BMC election on January 15 before Assembly contests in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry in April–May, followed by Rajya Sabha polls in April and June.
- After strong 2025 gains, including wins in Delhi and Bihar, the BJP enters the year politically steadier, with working president Nitin Nabin expected to be formally elected party chief in the first half of 2026.
- The Opposition remains divided as Congress shifts to issue-based mobilisation, planning nationwide protests over the G-RAM-G law starting January 5, with the BMC race serving as an early barometer.
- The Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has drawn objections after large deletions in draft lists, with Opposition parties alleging disenfranchisement and the ECI calling it a clean-up exercise.
- India’s 2026 Census launches houselisting from April to September with a first-ever caste count, likely renewing delimitation disputes, while the government pursues synchronised elections through constitutional amendments and maintains a March target for ending Left-wing extremism.