By the time elections begin it will have been over two months xx months since the Centre scrapped high-value notes, and what the currency situation is at the time is likely to be one of the big factors that will come into play when citizens go to cast their vote.
In Uttar Pradesh, the ruling Samajwadi Party is in a shambles, and even a patch up between the Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav faction may not inspire much confidence by the time the state goes to the polls. Political parties have been now and xx to cobble together any electoral alliances and the race looks wide open.
In Manipur, a big player this time around will be Irom Sharmila who was on a fast for 16 years to demand the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, or AFSPA.
Sharmila ended her fast in August last year and announced on Monday that she will take on Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the assembly polls. In the meanwhile, the United Naga Council (UNC)’s ongoing economic blockade on the two national highways of the state, and the commodity crisis in the state have led to unrest which has lasted as two months so far.
