Elections in the Republic of India in 2018 included by-elections to theLok Sabha, elections to theRajya Sabha, elections to of eight states and numerous other by-elections to state legislative assemblies, councils and local bodies.
The elections were widely considered crucial to the rulingNational Democratic Alliance and the oppositionUnited Progressive Alliance for the upcoming general elections in 2019. In seven of the eight states that went to polls this year, theBharatiya Janata Party was in direct contest with theIndian National Congress. Further, the election results[1] in the states ofKarnataka,Madhya Pradesh,Telangana,Chhattisgarh,Mizoram andRajasthan 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 expected to strengthen its position.
According to theConstitution of India, elections should take place to the parliament andstate 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 (in Parliament and in the states) usefirst past the post system - the candidate with aplurality of the votes wins the election.
Elections to one-third of the seats of the upper house of the Parliament - theRajya 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 (in states which have an upper house) are elected indirectly through local bodies.[2]
All the elections at the central and state level are conducted by theElection Commission of India while local body elections are conducted by state election commissions.[3]
Alwar (Lok Sabha constituency): Elections were held on 29 January to elect a new member of parliament after the death of the incumbent Mahant Chandnath of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Both the Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress fielded candidates from theyadav community. 61.77% of the total 18,27,936 voters participated in the election.[4] For the first time in the country, the election commission placed candidates' photos next to their name to help voters identify the candidates. In what was seen as a body blow to the state government, the INC wrested control of the seat from the BJP, with its candidateKaran Singh Yadav winning the seat by a margin of 1,96,496 votes.[5][6]
Ajmer (Lok Sabha constituency): Elections were held on 29 January to elect a new member of parliament after the death of the incumbent Sanwar Lal Jat of the Bharatiya Janata Party. 65% of the total 18.43 lakh voters participated in the election.[4] For the first time in the country, the election commission placed candidates' photos next to their name to help voters identify the candidates. In what was seen as a body blow to the state government, the INC wrested control of the seat from the BJP, its candidate Raghu Sharma won by a margin of 84,238 votes.[7]
Elections were held on March 14 to elect a new member of Parliament after the incumbent memberKeshav Prasad Maurya resigned from the post after he was appointed the Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.[10][12]
4 parliamentary seats were contested on 28 May 2018.[13][14] The counting of votes took place on May 31.[13][15] This election saw the ruling BJP party lose their majority in the lower house of the Indian Parliament.[16]
Elections were held in Tripura on 18 February 2018 in 59 out of 60 constituencies of theLegislative Assembly.[18] TheLeft Front led byManik Sarkar sought re-election, having governed Tripura since the 1998 election. The region in general had been under the political control of theCommunist Party for 25 years prior to the election, leading to the region being dubbed a "red holdout".[19] The incumbentLeft Front government was defeated after 25 years of office, with theBharatiya Janata Party andIndigenous Peoples Front of Tripura winning a large majority of seats. TheIndian National Congress, which was the second largest party in the2013 election, lost all its seats and most of its vote share.
Elections were held in Meghalaya on 27 February 2018 to elect 59 of 60 members to theLegislative Assembly. The incumbentIndian 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 ahung assembly with no single party or alliance getting the requisite majority of 31 seats in theVidhan Sabha.[20] Conrad Sangma, leader of theNational People's Party, announced that he would form a government with the support of theUnited Democratic Party and other regional parties.[21][22] He was sworn in as the Chief Minister, along with eleven other ministers.[23]
Elections were held in Karnataka on 12 May 2018 in 222 out of 224 constituencies of theLegislative Assembly. The incumbentIndian National Congress (INC) was seeking re-election, having governed the state since elections in 2013.[26] The oppositionBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) andJanata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) sought to regain office. The election led to a hung assembly, with theBharatiya Janata Party emerging as the single largest party, with 104 seats, but failing to win a majority of seats and popular votes. TheIndian National Congress (INC) won the popular vote.[27] 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(S) which had entered into a post-poll agreement formed a majority coalition government.H.D. Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal (Secular) was subsequently appointedChief Minister.
Panchayat elections andmunicipal elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 from October 8 till December 11.[30] The last time Panchayat elections were held in the state was in 2011 and the last time municipal elections were held was in 2005.[31][32]
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