ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to approach India's electoral politics from the unique prism of the states of India. Choosing the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as the site for a deeper analysis of the emerging trends and patterns in Indian politics, this study draws on the rich data emerging from the Lokniti Centre for the Study of Developing Societies National Election Study. The 2021 assembly elections verdict showed it conclusively in West Bengal. Karnataka, as the authors argue, was an outlier among the southern states like Punjab in the north as it was the only state where the BJP did well in the entire region. As it turned out, the voters did make a clear distinction between the national and state elections and showed an inclination to vote for the national parties in the Lok Sabha election while going for the TRS in the assembly election.
