Express Elections

In the fifth and final part of our special election series on Uttar Pradesh, we talk about an entirely new class of voters – people who have benefitted from the government's welfare schemes. For this, Monojit Majumdar, who heads the Indian Express' Explained section, talks to Indian Express' Harikishan Sharma about who these voters are, and how they could potentially impact these upcoming elections.

Last week in a rally in Unnao, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that a new policy will be introduced to tackle the stray cattle problem after March 10, when the Uttar Pradesh election results will be announced. In the fourth part of our special election series on UP, Indian Express' Monojit Majumdar is joined by Harish Damodaran to talk about this issue, and the extent to which it actually affects farmers in the state.Harish Damodaran is Indian Express' Rural Affairs Editor, and a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR).

In the third part of our special election series on Uttar Pradesh, Indian Express' Monojit Majumdar talks to Chief of Political Bureau Ravish Tiwari about the extent to which long campaigns and freebies influence voters, and what the political parties in the state are trying to highlight in their poll pitches.

What role do caste identities play in the UP elections? And how much do physical rallies and election campaigns help a party? In the second part of our special election series on the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Indian Express' Monojit Majumdar speaks to Ravish Tiwari, Indian Express' Chief of Political Bureau about these questions, and more.

In this election season, The Indian Express brings to a special series on the state that perhaps matters the most to the ruling BJP government, and the one that everyone has their eyes on — Uttar Pradesh. In this first episode on Uttar Pradesh, Indian Express' Monojit Majumdar speaks to Ravish Tiwari, Indian Express' Chief of Political Bureau about the fundamentals of UP politics.

For the final episode of our Youth Vote series, we address an important question- how do we get more young Indians to register and exercise their right to vote? Featuring interviews with for Chief Electoral Officer S.Y. Quraishi, Radio Mewat founder Archana Kapoor, journalist and game developer Abeer Kapoor, this episode looks at how the Election Commission and several independent groups have been working to increase young voter awareness, promote registration and create an inclusive electoral system. 

In the five years since the last election, the BJP has doubled down on their efforts to reach out to young voters while other political parties have scrambled to replicate this winning formula. How many first-time-voters have the BJP and Congress managed to reach out to? What tactics do regional parties use? In this episode, we detail how parties approach youth outreach differently, take a behind-the-scenes look at popular campaigns, discuss which party has hosted the more successful social media campaign, why not everyone is playing fair and much more. 

In the last two episodes, we talked about why the youth vote is important and what really drives young voters to vote - like unemployment, national security, infrastructure, better education and even caste. But for all these concerns, not enough young voters are actually voting. For several years the number of young voters turning up to vote has been 5% less than the average turnout. So what is the reason for this? Why aren't more young people voting? Are they fed up with the system? Are they politically apathetic? In this episode we speak to SY Quraishi (ex-chief election commissioner), political analysts like Manisha Priyam and Suhas Palshikar (co-director of the Lokniti programme) and popular Youtube personality Dhruv Rathee, to find the answers to these questions.

Over the last month, we've seen political parties rallying to garner the elusive "youth vote" through songs, ambitious promises and social media. But who are these young voters and what issues will drive them to the polls? We talk to young voters across the country to see whether their demands from a new government goes beyond the unemployment vs national security debate. Featuring interviews with psephologists like Sanjay Kumar (Directors, CSDS) the popular political Youtube personality Dhruv Rathee, this episode dives into anxieties of the youn that don't make headlines.

What makes the youth vote significant in this election? Is it the fact that this time there are about 1.8 crore first time voters? Or is it something more? In the first episode of the series 'The Youth Vote', we look into what makes the first time voters in this election different from previous generations, and the ways in which they will be significant to the outcome of the upcoming elections.

In less than 2 weeks about 91 crore Indians are going to head to the polls. This is an election where the youth of the country will play a very decisive role. But what do we know about the people who are the driving force of our democracy? Tune in every Friday starting 5th April for Express Elections- The Youth Vote, an audio series by the Indian Express where we hand over the mic to youth of our country. 

In the state assembly elections yesterday, a resurgent Congress has made crucial gains ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with the party all set to form governments in the Hindi heartland of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. These victories of the Congress will gloss over the party’s defeat in Mizoram, which was the only northeastern state still under its influence. Down south, riding strong on Telangana pride and its welfare schemes, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi is headed for a landslide victory. Joining us to lend some insight into the election results and what they mean for the 2019 elections are Manoj CG, who covers the Congress and Liz Mathew, who covers the BJP. You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @expresspodcasts, or send us an email at podcasts@indianexpress.com. If you like this show, please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts, so other people can find us. You can also find us on www.indianexpress.com/audio.

It has now been over 4 years since the state of Telangana was formed and today it headed for its second assembly election. With the dream of the new state now realized, it is the first time that the present government, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), is facing the voters based on its performance. It is also contending with the alliance of 4 different political parties called the 'Prajakutami'. In this episode, Indian Express's state correspondent, Sreenivas Janyala joins as we try to understand how the TRS government has fared in the last 4 years and if it will come back to power. You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @expresspodcasts, or send us an email at podcasts@indianexpress.com. If you like this show, please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts, so other people can find us. You can also find us on http://www.indianexpress.com/audio.

Tomorrow, the state of Rajasthan goes to polls. It has been following a pattern since the 1998 elections, choosing to oscillate between the BJP and Congress every five years, constantly voting against the incumbent government that failed to impress them. The stage is set for the Congress to win but their infighting seems to be holding them back. Rajasthan correspondents Deep Mukherjee and Hamza Khan join us to discuss which party will pull through and why this is significant for the 2019 elections. You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @expresspodcasts, or send us an email at podcasts@indianexpress.com. If you like this show, please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts, so other people can find us. You can also find us on http://www.indianexpress.com/audio.

In the last two decades, Rajasthan has shown a tendency to oscillate between the BJP and Congress for the state elections. Will this combined with the mood of anti-incumbency against CM Vasundhara Raje hurt the BJP's chances in the upcoming elections? Sanjay Lodha, a Professor at the Department of Political Science, Mohan Lal Sukhadia University, joins us on this episode to examine Vasundhara Raje's unpopularity in the state and how caste groups affect the elections. Lodha has also carried out the various Lokniti-ABP 'Mood of the Nation' surveys in Rajasthan for the Centre for Study of Developing Societies and shares some insights from recent polls. You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook and Twitter @expresspodcasts, or send us an email at podcasts@indianexpress.com. If you like this show, please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts so other people can find us. You can also find us on http://www.indianexpress.com/audio.

In many ways, this is the toughest election that Shivraj Singh Chouhan has faced in Madhya Pradesh, a state where he has won the last three consecutive elections. The past couple of years have seen agricultural disruptions and multiple caste related agitations in the state. In the meantime, the members of the Congress party seem to have set aside their internal differences and have come together to oppose the incumbent party. But even so, Chouhan's goodwill in the state seems to still run strong. In this episode, we ask if the BJP will win in Madhya Pradesh yet again, and try to understand how the result of this election will affect what happens in the 2019 general elections. You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook and Twitter @expresspodcasts, or send us an email at podcasts@indianexpress.com. If you like this show, please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts, so other people can find us. You can also find us on http://www.indianexpress.com/audio.

With the state set to go to polls tomorrow, our last episode on the Mizoram elections takes a look at how the elections may pan out. Indian Express's Mizoram correspondent Abhishek Saha talks to Neha Mathews about what is working for and against the Congress and the Mizoram National Front, the Church's important role in the state, why this state's elections are considered the most fair and free elections in India and why it is the final frontier for the BJP in the North-east. You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @expresspodcasts, or send us an email at podcasts@indianexpress.com. If you like this show, please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts, so other people can find us. You can also find us on www.indianexpress.com/audio.

Telangana, India's youngest state goes to elections on the 7th of December. In this episode, we look back at how the state came to be and how that affects its politics today. Sreenivas Janyala, Indian Express's state correspondent, joins us to take us through the state's political history. You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook and Twitter @expresspodcasts, or send us an email at podcasts@indianexpress.com. If you like this show, please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts, so other people can find us. You can also find us on http://www.indianexpress.com/audio.

On this episode, Dr. Sanjay Lodha joins Neha Mathews to discuss Rajasthan's political history. Sanjay Lodha is a Professor at the Department of Political Science, Mohan Lal Sukhadia University, Udaipur. He also carried out the various Lokniti-ABP 'Mood of the Nation' surveys in Rajasthan for the Centre for Study of Developing Societies. Lodha explains how the Rajasthan elections became a bipolar fight between the BJP and Congress and sheds light on the rule of Mohan Lal Sukhadia, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and others. You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook and Twitter @expresspodcasts, or send us an email at podcasts@indianexpress.com. If you like this show, please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts so other people can find us. You can also find us on http://www.indianexpress.com/audio.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for the past 13 years. This will be the fourth consecutive time that he'll be looking to retain power in the BJP led state. In this episode, we look at the highs and lows of Chouhan's tenure and try to understand what makes him stand apart from other BJP chief ministers in the country. You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook and Twitter @expresspodcasts, or send us an email at podcasts@indianexpress.com. If you like this show, please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts so other people can find us. You can also find us on http://www.indianexpress.com/audio.

In this episode, we deep dive into issues that will drive Mizoram to vote with Adam Halliday, editor of a the weekly magazine The Frontier Despatch in Aizawl. Adam explains why anti-incumbency, the bad state of roads, lack of healthcare in rural areas and the Prohibition are election issues and how they affect the seemingly homogeneous state. Last, we discuss why the state is the final frontier for the BJP.

The Madhya Pradesh that we know today is not the same as the one we inherited after the independence. It has seen a lot of changes these past 71 years, both politically and geographically. As the state gets ready for its assembly elections, scheduled to take place on 28th November, we take a moment to look back its political history. Indian Express' bureau chief, Ravish Tiwari, tells us the state's story and explains how the BJP managed to rise to power in the state where it has ruled for the last 15 years. You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook and Twitter @expresspodcasts, or send us an email at podcasts@indianexpress.com. If you like this show, please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts, so other people can find us. You can also find us on http://www.indianexpress.com/audio.

With 40 Assembly seats up for grabs, Mizoram goes to the polls at the end of November, along with Madhya Pradesh. What makes this small northeastern state so interesting? What is its history? Who are the players in this election and what are the issues they're fielding? All this and more in the first Mizoram specific episode on Express Elections. You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook and Twitter @expresspodcasts, or send us an email at podcasts@indianexpress.com. If you like this show, please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts, so other people can find us. You can also find us on www.indianexpress.com/audio.

For the last episode of our Chhattisgarh election coverage, correspondent Dipankar Ghose explains why despite a narrow a margin, the Congress hasn't won in the state for the last three elections. We then dive into why the Congress remains faceless and how the polls will fare this time.

After establishing Chhattisgarh's political history and discussing its main players, we're diving into who the main voter groups in the state are and the issues that push them to vote. Joining us is Sanjay Kumar, Director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies which undertakes Lokniti Mood of the Nation surveys among many other things. Then, our Chhattisgarh correspondent Dipankar Ghose answers pressing questions - which party's voter base is the JCC(J)-BSP-CPI alliance going to cut into and how will it affect the 2019 elections?

To kick off the Express Elections podcast, we're diving straight into the political history of Chhattisgarh. With the state assembly elections right around the corner, Chhattisgarh correspondent Dipankar Ghose introduces the main players in the elections and explains how the state has historically voted, what a typical Chhattisgarhi voter seems like and whether a mood of anti-incumbency has set in after 15 years of BJP rule. You can follow us and leave us feedback on Facebook and Twitter @expresspodcasts, or send us an email at podcasts@indianexpress.com. If you like this show, please subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts, so other people can find us. You can also find us on www.indianexpress.com/audio.

In six months, India holds general elections. Before that, five states hold Assembly elections. The Indian Express brings you a podcast that peels back the layers of political mudslinging and campaign rhetoric to cover everything you need to know about India voting. Over the next six months, Express Elections will equip you with expert analysis and commentary on the significant events and players, an assessment of where the current government stands, and an understanding of the electoral process in India. Listen to the promo here.