Polls that will test INDIA bloc

The upcoming assembly elections will see regional parties battle the BJP for political supremacy

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It is rare in Indian politics for a set of elections to hold more value for the national Opposition than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Yet, in the upcoming polls in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Assam, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) has far more to lose than the BJP. Three of these four states and the Union territory of Puducherry represent a final frontier that has consistently resisted the BJP’s ideological and political campaign. Five years ago, victories in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Bengal boosted the Opposition and carried it through two subsequent years of electoral drubbing. Retaining control this time will be key for an Opposition struggling with a shri