2018 elections in India


Elections in the Republic of India in 2018 included by-elections to the Lok Sabha, elections to the Rajya Sabha, elections to legislative assemblies of eight states and numerous other by-elections to state legislative assemblies, councils and local bodies.
The elections were widely considered crucial to the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the opposition United Progressive Alliance in lieu of the upcoming general elections in 2019. In seven of the eight states that went to polls this year, the Bharatiya Janata Party was in direct contest with the Indian National Congress. Further, the election results in the states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Rajasthan are considered a barometer of the pulse of the public before the general elections. Elections to the upper house where the ruling National Democratic Alliance does not command a majority are by kicking on the part of all the political leaders expected to strengthen its position.

Background

Political System

According to the Constitution of India, elections should take place to the parliament and state legislative assemblies every five years, unless an emergency is under operation. Further, any vacancy caused by death or resignation must be filled through an election within six months of occurrence of such vacancy. The elections to the lower houses use first past the post system - the candidate with a plurality of the votes wins the election.
Elections to one-third of the seats of the upper house of the Parliament - the Rajya Sabha are conducted every two years. The members of the upper house are elected indirectly by the state legislative assemblies on the basis of proportional representation. Members to the state legislative councils are elected indirectly through local bodies.
All the elections at the central and state level are conducted by the Election Commission of India while local body elections are conducted by state election commissions.

Parliament of India

By-elections to the Lok Sabha

January

2018 Winner2014 WinnerStateConstituency
INCBJPRajasthanAlwar
INCBJPRajasthanAjmer
AITCAITCWest BengalUluberia

2018 Winner2014 WinnerStateConstituencyNote
SPBJPUttar PradeshGorakhpurElections were held on March 11 to elect a new member of Parliament after the incumbent member Yogi Adityanath resigned from the post after he was appointed the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
SPBJPUttar PradeshPhulpurElections were held on March 14 to elect a new member of Parliament after the incumbent member Keshav Prasad Maurya resigned from the post after he was appointed the Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
RJDRJDBiharArariaThe constituency fell vacant after the death of RJD MP Mohammed Taslimuddin.

May

4 parliamentary seats were contested on 28 May 2018. The counting of votes took place on May 31. This election saw the ruling BJP party lose their majority in the lower house of the Indian Parliament
2018 Winner2014 WinnerStateConstituencyNote
RLDBJPUttar PradeshKairanaThe constituency fell vacant after the death of BJP MP Hukum Singh.
NCPBJPMaharashtraBhandara-GondiyaNana Patole quit as the BJP MP and resigned from the ruling party to return to the Congress earlier this year, necessitating the by-election.
BJPBJPMaharashtraPalgharPalghar seat in north Konkan fell vacant after sitting BJP MP Chintaman Vanga died on 30 January following a heart attack.
NDPPNPFNagalandNagalandThe by-election was necessitated after NDPP's Neiphiu Rio resigned to take on the role of Nagaland chief minister.

November
3 parliamentary seats had been contested on 3 November 2018 in Karnataka. Results were declared on 6 November 2018.
2018 Winner2014 WinnerStateConstituencyNote
INCBJPKarnatakaBellaryBellary Lok Sabha constituency was vacated due to Sriramulu being elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in May 2018.
JDSJDSKarnatakaMandyaThis seat was vacated after sitting MP had joined Karnataka Government as Minister for minor irrigation
BJPBJPKarnatakaShivamoggaShivamogga constituency was vacated B. S. Yeddyurappa has quit after being elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in May 2018

State Legislatures

Tripura

Elections were held in Tripura on 18 February 2018 in 59 out of 60 constituencies of the Legislative Assembly. The Left Front led by Manik Sarkar sought re-election, having governed Tripura since the 1998 election. The region in general had been under the political control of the Communist Party for 25 years prior to the election, leading to the region being dubbed a "red holdout". The incumbent Left Front government was defeated after 25 years of office, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura winning a large majority of seats. The Indian National Congress, which was the second largest party in the 2013 election, lost all its seats and most of its vote share.

Meghalaya

Elections were held in Meghalaya on 27 February 2018 to elect 59 of 60 members to the Legislative Assembly. The incumbent Indian National Congress government controlled the state in a coalition with smaller parties prior to the election, and sought to retain office. The elections resulted in a hung assembly with no single party or alliance getting the requisite majority of 31 seats in the Vidhan Sabha. Conrad Sangma, leader of the National People's Party, announced that he would form a government with the support of the United Democratic Party and other regional parties. He was sworn in as the Chief Minister, along with eleven other ministers.

Nagaland

Elections were held in Nagaland on 27 February 2018 in 59 out of 60 constituencies of the Legislative Assembly. The scheduled election in Northern Angami II constituency did not take place as only incumbent MLA Neiphiu Rio was nominated and was therefore declared elected unopposed. The ruling Naga People's Front was challenged by the newly established Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The NDPP and its allies won a majority, with former Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio returning to government.

Karnataka

Elections were held in Karnataka on 12 May 2018 in 222 out of 224 constituencies of the Legislative Assembly. The incumbent Indian National Congress was seeking re-election, having governed the state since elections in 2013. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal sought to regain office. The election led to a hung assembly, with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as the single largest party, with 104 seats, but failing to win a majority of seats and popular votes. The Indian National Congress won the popular vote. Following the election, B. S. Yeddyurappa was appointed Chief Minister and tasked with forming a minority BJP government, but resigned two days later on being unable to prove majority in the assembly. Thereafter the INC and JD which had entered into a post-poll agreement formed a majority coalition government. H.D. Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal was subsequently appointed Chief Minister.

Madhya Pradesh

Chhatishgarh

Mizoram

Rajasthan

The seat and vote share was as follows:

Telangana

State Assembly Bypolls

10 assembly seats across 9 different states held bypolls on 28 May 2018. The results of each bypoll were declared on 31 May 2018

Results

Noorpur">Noorpur (Assembly constituency)">Noorpur ([Uttar Pradesh])

Followed the demise of BJP MLA Lokendra Singh Chauhan in a road accident, the Noorpur seat fell vacant. Besides the Kairana Lok Sabha constituency, Noorpur is another assembly seat in which the Bharatiya Janata Party fought with the Samajwadi Party. Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party didn't participate in the bypolls, and it is still clear that the BSP will lend support to SP. SP Candidate won the seat.

Shahkot">Shahkot Assembly Constituency">Shahkot ([Punjab])

constituency in Punjab fell vacant when the sitting Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Ajit Singh Kohar died of heart failure in February 2018. The Aam Aadmi Party, which had emerged as the runners-up to Congress in 2017, campaigned aggressively for its candidate Rattan Singh Kakkarkalan.
The AAP campaign, led by AAP MP Bhagwant Mann, was said to have received a lukewarm response. The AAP suffered many a setback in the state after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tendered an apology to Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia. Some of the state leaders were disappointed with Kejriwal's decision and switched to either AAP or Congress.

Jokihat">Jokihat (Vidhan Sabha constituency)">Jokihat ([Bihar])

In what is being seen by many as a test of Nitish Kumar's popularity in the state after he walked away from the mahagathbandhan in 2017, the chief minister and half of his cabinet campaigned for Janata Dal United's candidate Murshid Alam. Alam has seven criminal cases, including a gangrape case, against him.
JD legislator Sarfaraz Alam had quit the party after Nitish decided to part ways with Lalu's Rashtriya Janata Dal, necessitating a by-election to the assembly seat. Later, he became the MP from Araria lok sabha constituency in Bihar through the bypoll held in March 2018.

Gomia">Gomia (Vidhan Sabha constituency)">Gomia and Silli">Silli (Vidhan Sabha constituency)">Silli ([Jharkhand])

Two assembly seats, Gomia and Silli, in Jharkhand went to polls on 28 May. In Gomia, the ruling National Democratic Alliance partners – the BJP and the All Jharkhand Students Union fought separately.
In Silli, there was a direct fight between Jharkhand Mukti Morcha candidate Seema Mahto and AJSU president Sudesh Mahto. Seema Mahto is the wife of Amit Mahto, who lost his assembly seat after being convicted and awarded a jail term.

Chengannur">Chengannur (State Assembly constituency)">Chengannur ([Kerala])

Sitting CPI MLA KK Ramachandran Nair's demise necessitated the by-election to the Kerala constituency. Even though a result against the CPI-led Left government will not change the composition of the assembly, the bypoll is being seen as a test of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government’s two years in power.
Indian National Congress, the main opposition party of Kerala, claims that the mandate will be against the performances of state and central governments.
Chengannur is one of the constituencies in Kerala, where National Democratic Alliance got a vote share near 30% in 2016 vidhan sabha elections. Through the bypoll, we can know the present attitude of Keralites towards the central-ruling party.
Out of the whole bypoll constituencies, the highest poll percentage was recorded in Chengannur-76.27%.

Palus-Kadegaon">Palus-Kadegaon (Vidhan Sabha constituency)">Palus-Kadegaon ([Maharashtra])

Congress nominee Vishwajeet Kadam's election from Palus-Kadegaon Assembly seat in the by-poll scheduled later this month is a mere formality as the main rival BJP has withdrawn from the race. The by-poll, scheduled on 28 May, was necessitated because of the death of sitting Congress MLA and former minister Patangrao Kadam.
The Congress had fielded his son Vishwajeet Kadam from the seat.

Ampati">Ampati (Vidhan Sabha constituency)">Ampati ([Meghalaya])

Ampati is considered to be a Congress stronghold where the party has fielded Mukul Sangma's daughter Miani D Shira against the National People's Party's Clement Momin.

Tharali">Tharali (Vidhan Sabha constituency)">Tharali ([Uttarakhand])

Uttarakhand's Tharali seat fell vacant after BJP MLA Magan Lal Shah succumbed to swine flu in February 2018. Uttarakhand had voted the BJP to power in the assembly election in 2017.

Maheshtala">Maheshtala (Vidhan Sabha constituency)">Maheshtala ([West Bengal])

In West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, the Maheshtala seat fell vacant after the two-time All India Trinamool Congress MLA Kasturi Das dies in February 2018. The Congress extended support to CPI candidate for the 28 May by-poll to Maheshtala Assembly seat in West Bengal, sparking speculation that the two parties might be coming closer to each other. The two parties had forged a coalition in Bengal for the 2016 assembly elections but parted ways after the CPI central committee said the alliance was “not in consonance with the party line adopted in 2015”.

Jasdan">Jasdan (Vidhan Sabha constituency)">Jasdan (Gujarat">Gujarat Legislative Assembly">Gujarat)

Jasdan legislative assembly in Gujarat fell vacant when Congress leader and five-time MLA of the constituency, Kuvarji Bavaliya, resigned from the constituency in July 2018. The election for the constituency were held on 20 December 2018 and the result will be declared on 23 December 2018.
He won

Kolebira">Kolebira (Vidhan Sabha constituency)">Kolebira (Jharkhand">Jharkhand Legislative Assembly">Jharkhand)

The legislative assembly seat in Kolebira of Jharkhand state fell vacant after the disqualification of Enos Ekka, MLA of the constituency and a former minister in Jharkhand government. He lost the membership from the state assembly in July 2018 after found guilty under sections 302, 201, 364A, 171F of the Indian Penal Code and the provisions of the Arms Act.

Local body elections

Assam

elections and municipal elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 from October 8 till December 11. The last time Panchayat elections were held in the state were in 2011 and the last time municipal elections were held were in 2005.

Uttarakhand

On 18 November, elections to the local bodies were held in Uttarakhand.