New Delhi: After West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry elected new governments in 2021, seven other Indian states are gearing up for the Assembly elections that will be held in 2022.


All political parties have already started strategising, forging alliances, and setting their houses in order.


The BJP has a lot at stake as it rules all but one of these seven states, including Uttar Pradesh, the biggest state in its kitty in terms of seats.


While the current governments’ term in UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa is ending early next year, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will see elections later in that year.


The first round of ABP-CVoter survey suggested in early September that the BJP is likely to return to power in UP, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, while Punjab could see a tight contest between the Congress and the AAP. 


Here is a brief look at the seven states going to polls next year.


List of 7 states going to polls in 2022


1. Uttar Pradesh


Total seats: 403
Majority mark: 202
Party in power: BJP


The BJP returned to power in the largest legislature in India in 2017 with an overwhelming majority, winning 312 of the total 403 seats — the majority mark was 202. 


Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has since emerged as one of the strongest BJP leaders, though he is facing challenges ahead of the elections. The state received much flak over the way it handled the Covid pandemic, especially during the peak of the second wave. 


It is to be seen if this, and other issues such as farmers' protests, will impact the party's prospects in the polls.


Months to go for the elections to be notified in the state, the BJP expanded the UP government on September 26, naming seven new ministers. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the exercise reflected “social balance”, giving representation to “all sections”.


The polls are due in early 2022.


2. Gujarat 


Total seats: 182
Majority mark: 92
Party in power: BJP


The ruling BJP sprung a surprise in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home turf, early September when it changed the chief minister of five years.


Vijay Rupani — who was made the state’s CM in 2016, a year before the last Assembly polls — and his entire cabinet were replaced in a sudden move, and Bhupendra Patel, a first-time MLA and Patidar leader, was brought at the helm.   


According to reports, this was part of a long-drawn plan devised by the central leadership keeping in mind the 2022 elections.


Patels, or Patidars, considered the state’s most influential community, financially and politically, have a hold on 70 to 90 assembly seats out of the total 182.


The Congress recently made young Patidar leader Hardik Patel the working president of its state unit.  


In 2017, the Congress put up its best performance in three decades, improving their tally from 57 seats in 2012 to 77. The BJP won 99 seats — less than the 115 seats it won in 2012 polls. 


It is to be seen how the Congress will fare this time as it struggles to gain ground lost in the urban and rural local body elections, and also the assembly bypolls.


The Aam Aadmi Party, meanwhile, has started to make inroads in the state that has traditionally seen a bipolar contest between the BJP and the Congress. It is emerging as a powerful party after a good show in the Surat municipal elections when it wiped out the Congress as the main opposition. With a lot of people having joined the party since, AAP is set to play an important role in the 2022 elections.


The polls are due in late 2022.


3. Punjab


Total seats: 117
Majority mark: 59
Party in power: Congress 


A lot is happening in Punjab, one of the few states where the Congress is still considered to be on a strong footing, ahead of the elections. After a long-drawn turf war between cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu and Capt Amarinder Singh, with the former resorting to an open rebellion against the latter, the state has seen a change of guards. With Amarinder gone and Charanjit Singh Channi in, all eyes are on the party to see whether it manages to return to power despite inner turmoil and anti-incumbency. 


For a few decades now, the Congress and the SAD-BJP alliance have ruled the state every alternate term. SAD and BJP are no longer together, with the Akalis parting ways over the three controversial farm laws passed by the Narendra Modi government last year. 


The Aam Aadmi Party has also emerged a strong force in the state, with the recent ABP-CVoter survey giving it 51-57 seats against the majority mark of 59.


Polls are due in the first quarter of 2022.


4. Uttarakhand 


Total seats: 70
Majority mark: 36
Party in power: BJP


Uttarakhand has seen the ruling BJP replace two CMs in a short span.


In 2017, the BJP came to power in the state after a landslide victory, winning 57 seats in the 70-member assembly. 


Trivendra Singh Rawat, considered to be close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, was made the chief minister.


Four years later, the party asked Rawat to step down, allegedly because of “non-performance”, and amid rumours that the BJP wanted to contest the 2022 assembly elections with a fresh face.


“Dissent” within the Uttarakhand BJP was also said to be one of the reasons why Rawat was replaced. According to reports, a section of MLAs were demanding a change in the leadership and the party gave in because it did not want a repeat of Jharkhand, where it lost the last assembly polls mainly due to the “indifferent” image of former CM Raghubar Das.


Lok Sabha MP Tirath Singh Rawat was brought in as the next CM, but he too was replaced within three months, and Pushkar Singh Dhami became the CM in July 2021.


One of the biggest challenges before Dhami is to bring a solution to the issue of Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board.


Priests of various temples in the state have been demanding dissolution of the board, constituted in 2019 to bring 51 Uttarakhand temples, including the four shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, under it. They claim the board has been interfering in the traditions of the shrines.


Tirath Singh Rawat had announced that the government would remove the management of temples from under the board’s control, but the decision was not implemented.


Polls are due in early 2022.


5. Himachal Pradesh 


Total seats: 68
Majority mark: 35
Party in power: BJP 


Though the elections are almost a year away in Himachal Pradesh, all political parties have started their preparations. 


The hill state has traditionally unseated the party in power every five years. When the BJP came to power in 2017, defeating the Congress government led by Virbhadra Singh, Jairam Thakur was made the CM as the party’s CM candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal lost. 


The ruling BJP has to fight the anti-incumbency factor, and there are also reports of factionalism in the state unit.


While Thakur’s chair seems to be safe as of now, his two visits to the national capital in September to meet the central leadership triggered speculation of a reshuffle similar to Gujarat.


The Congress, meanwhile, is also facing a leadership issue after the death of Virbhadra Singh, who was the longest-serving CM of Himachal Pradesh. 


The upcoming bypolls to Mandi Lok Sabha constituency and three assembly seats of Jubbal-Kotkhai, Arki and Fatehpur, will serve as a litmus test for both the BJP and the Congress.  


The polls will be conducted on October 30 and the results will be announced on November 2. 


AAP has said it will contest all 68 seats in the assembly polls.


The election is due in late 2022.


6. Manipur


Total seats: 60
Majority mark: 31
Party in power: BJP (in alliance with NPF, NPP, LJP)


In 2017, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party in the 60-member Manipur house, winning 28 seats — three short of majority. The BJP, which had won 21 seats, formed the government with the support of regional parties Naga People’s Front (NPF), National People’s Party (NPP), and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).


The Congress has since only seen its members deserting the party.


Suffering from infightings and leadership crisis, it suffered a major setback when its former Manipur chief Govindas Konthoujam joined the BJP.


Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), an NDA ally, has announced that it will contest the assembly polls in Manipur this time.


The ABP-CVoter survey said the BJP is likely to retain Manipur.


Polls are due in the first quarter of 2022.


7. Goa


Total seats: 40
Majority mark: 21
Party in power: BJP 


The election scene is heating up in Goa, with the tiny state set to see heated contests on its 40 seats. 


The ruling BJP, the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Nationalist Congress Party, and the Shiv Sena, along with regional parties such as Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Goa Forward Party (GFP) will be in the fray.


The Trinamool Congress has also said it is preparing to contest all 40 seats. 


In 2017, the Congress had won the highest 17 seats, against the BJP’s 13. But the BJP allied with regional parties MGP and GFP — both with three MLAs each — and formed the government with Manohar Parrikar as the chief minister.


It was said at the time that MGP, GFP and three independent legislators had agreed to support the BJP on the condition that Parrikar, who was then the country’s defence minister, would head the coalition government.


After Parrikar’s death, Pramod Sawant was made the CM.


The ABP-CVoter survey said the BJP is likely to comfortably retain Goa, while the AAP could make big gains to replace Congress as the principal Opposition party.


Election is due in the first quarter of 2022.