EXPERTS ADVISORY

The victory in India’s northeastern state of Assam is extremely welcome to BJP, the ruling party, after defeats in last year’s state elections and in three other states this year.

By capturing Assam, and making inroads in state elections in this round, they hope to do even better in next year’s election when Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state with more than 210 million people, goes to the polls.

University of Michigan experts can comment on the implications of the win:

Sriram Mohan is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication Studies. He studies political communications, particularly religious nationalism in digital India.

“BJP’s Assam win was apparent, even as the state went to polls,” he said. “That this comes after 15 years of Congress rule is noteworthy. Congress’ weakening continues, and that will be a cause for concern. Next year’s big elections like Uttar Pradesh would, therefore, be crucial for them.

“Jayalalithaa and Mamta Banerjee, however, are the day’s big winners. In Jaya’s case, it’s the first time in 30 years that the incumbent party has held onto power in Tamil Nadu. In many ways, this marks the end of Karunanidhi’s political career. The Left holding on to Kerala is a pushback against those who were waiting to write their obituary along with that of the Congress.”

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Puneet Manchanda is a professor of marketing at the Ross School of Business. His areas of expertise are business in emerging markets, business in India, and strategy and marketing issues.

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