2018 elections in India

According to the Constitution of India, elections should take place to the parliament and state 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) use first past the post system - the candidate with a plurality of the votes wins the election.

Elections to one-third of the seats of the upper house of the Parliament - the Rajya 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 the Election 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 the yadav community. 61.77% of the total 18,27,936 voters participated in the election.[4] For the first time in the country, election commission has 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 candidate Karan 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 has 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]
• Uluberia (Lok Sabha constituency): Elections were held on 29 January to elect a new member of parliament after the death of Mohammedan Sporting Club's president and All India Trinamool Congress M.P Sultan Ahmed.[8] Trinamool Congress candidate Sajda Ahmed won Uluberia Lok Sabha seat by defeating BJP candidate Anupam Mallick by 4,74,023 votes.[9]

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]

November

3 parliamentary seats had been contested on 3 November 2018 in Karnataka. Results were declared on 6 November 2018.

Elections were held in Tripura on 18 February 2018 in 59 out of 60 constituencies of the Legislative Assembly.[18] The Left Front led by Manik Sarkar sought re-election, having governed Tripura since the 1998 election. The region in general had been under the political control of the Communist Party for 25 years prior to the election, leading to the region being dubbed a "red holdout".[19] The incumbent Left Front government was defeated after 25 years of office, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura winning a large majority of seats. The Indian National Congress, which was the second largest party in the 2013 election, lost all its seats and most of its vote share.

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Won	+/−
	Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)	999,093	43.0		36	36
	Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM)	992,575	42.7		16	33
	Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT)	173,603	7.5		8	8
	Indian National Congress (INC)	41,325	1.8		0	10
	Communist Party of India (CPI)	19,352	0.8		0	1
	Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP)	17,568	0.8		0
	Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT)	16,255	0.7		0
	All India Forward Bloc (AIFB)	13,115	0.6		0
	All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)	6,989	0.3		0
	Independents (IND)				0
	Other parties and coalitions				0
	None of the Above (NOTA)
Vacant seat					1	1
Total			100.00		60	±0

Elections were held in Meghalaya on 27 February 2018 to elect 59 of 60 members to the Legislative Assembly. The incumbent Indian 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 a hung assembly with no single party or alliance getting the requisite majority of 31 seats in the Vidhan Sabha.[20] Conrad Sangma, leader of the National People's Party, announced that he would form a government with the support of the United Democratic Party and other regional parties.[21][22] He was sworn in as the Chief Minister, along with eleven other ministers.[23]

Party		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Contested	Won	+/−
	Indian National Congress (INC)	447,472	28.5		59	21	8
	National People's Party (NPP)	323,500	20.6		52	19	17
	United Democratic Party (UDP)	182,491	11.6		27	6	2
	Independents (IND)	170,249	10.8			3	10
	Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)	151,217	9.6		47	2	2
	People's Democratic Front (PDF)	128,413	8.2		8	4	4
	Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP)	84,011	5.3		15	2	1
	Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)	25,247	1.6		6	1	1
	Garo National Council (GNC)	21,679	1.4		7	0	1
	Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM)	14,164	0.9		6	1	1
	All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)	5,544	0.4			0
	None of the Above (NOTA)	14,631	0.9
Vacant seat						1	1
Total			100.00		297	60	±0

Elections were held in Nagaland on 27 February 2018 in 59 out of 60 constituencies of the Legislative Assembly. The scheduled election in Northern Angami II constituency did not take place as only incumbent MLA Neiphiu Rio was nominated and was therefore declared elected unopposed.[24][25] The ruling Naga People's Front was challenged by the newly established Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The NDPP and its allies won a majority, with former Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio returning to government.

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Candidates	Won	+/−
	Nagaland People's Front (NPF)	389,912	38.8		58	26	12
	Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)	253,090	25.2		40	18	18
	Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)	153,864	15.3		20	12	11
	National People's Party (NPP)	69,506	6.9		25	2	2
	Janata Dal (United) (JD(U))	45,089	4.5		13	1
	Independents (IND)	43,008	4.3		11	1	7
	Indian National Congress (INC)	20,752	2.1		18	0	8
	Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)	10,693	1.1		6	0	4
	Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)	7,491	0.7		3	0
	Lok Janshakti Party (LJP)	2,765	0.3		2	0
	None of the Above (NOTA)
Total			100.00		196	60	±0

Elections were held in Karnataka on 12 May 2018 in 222 out of 224 constituencies of the Legislative Assembly. The incumbent Indian National Congress (INC) was seeking re-election, having governed the state since elections in 2013.[26] The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) sought to regain office. The election led to a hung assembly, with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as the single largest party, with 104 seats, but failing to win a majority of seats and popular votes. The Indian 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 appointed Chief Minister.

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Won	+/−
	Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)	1,31,85,384	36.2	16.3	104	64
	Indian National Congress (INC)	1,39,32,069	38.0	1.4	80	44
	Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS)	66,66,307	18.3	1.9	37	3
	Independents (IND)	14,37,045	3.9	3.5	1	8
	Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)	1,08,592	0.3		1	1
	Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP)	74,229	0.2		1	1
	Other parties and candidates	6,83,632	2.2		0	13
	None of the Above (NOTA)	3,22,841	0.9
Total			100.00		224	±0

The seat and vote share was as follows:[28][29]

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Won	+/−
	Indian National Congress	1,39,35,201	39.3%	6.23	100	79
	Bharatiya Janata Party	1,37,57,502	38.8%	6.37	73	92
	Bahujan Samaj Party	14,10,995	4.0%	0.63	6	3
	Independents	33,72,206	9.5%	1.29	13	6
	Rashtriya Loktantrik Party	8,56,038	2.4%	New	3	New
	Communist Party of India (Marxist)	4,34,210	1.2%	0.33	2	2
	Bharatiya Tribal Party	2,55,100	0.7%	New	2	New
	Rashtriya Lok Dal	1,16,320	0.3%	0.29	1	1
	Other parties and candidates (OTH)	8,87,317	2.5%	0.00	0	0
	None of the Above	4,67,781	1.3%
Total		3,54,92,670	100.00		199	±0

Followed the demise of BJP MLA Lokendra Singh Chauhan in a road accident, the Noorpur seat fell vacant. Besides the Kairana Lok Sabha constituency, Noorpur is another assembly seat in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fought with the Samajwadi Party (SP). Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) didn't participate in the bypolls, and it is still clear that the BSP will lend support to SP. SP Candidate won the seat.

Shahkot constituency in Punjab fell vacant when the sitting Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Ajit Singh Kohar died of heart failure in February 2018. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had emerged as the runners-up to Congress in 2017, campaigned aggressively for its candidate Rattan Singh Kakkarkalan.

The AAP campaign, led by AAP MP Bhagwant Mann, was said to have received a lukewarm response. The AAP suffered many a setback in the state after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tendered an apology to Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia. Some of the state leaders were disappointed with Kejriwal's decision and switched to either AAP or Congress.

In what is being seen by many as a test of Nitish Kumar's popularity in the state after he walked away from the mahagathbandhan in 2017, the chief minister and half of his cabinet campaigned for Janata Dal United's (JDU) candidate Murshid Alam. Alam has seven criminal cases, including a gangrape case, against him.

JD(U) legislator Sarfaraz Alam had quit the party after Nitish decided to part ways with Lalu's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), necessitating a by-election to the assembly seat. Later, he became the MP from Araria lok sabha constituency in Bihar through the bypoll held in March 2018.

Two assembly seats, Gomia and Silli, in Jharkhand went to polls on 28 May. In Gomia, the ruling National Democratic Alliance partners – the BJP and the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) fought separately.

In Silli, there was a direct fight between Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate Seema Mahto and AJSU president Sudesh Mahto. Seema Mahto is the wife of Amit Mahto, who lost his assembly seat after being convicted and awarded a jail term.

Sitting CPI(M) MLA KK Ramachandran Nair's demise necessitated the by-election to the Kerala constituency. Even though a result against the CPI(M)-led Left government will not change the composition of the assembly, the bypoll is being seen as a test of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government’s two years in power.

Indian National Congress (INC), the main opposition party of Kerala, claims that the mandate will be against the performances of state and central governments.

Chengannur is one of the constituencies in Kerala, where National Democratic Alliance (NDA) got a vote share near 30% in 2016 vidhan sabha elections. Through the bypoll, we can know the present attitude of Keralites towards the central-ruling party.

Out of the whole bypoll constituencies, the highest poll percentage was recorded in Chengannur-76.27%.

Congress nominee Vishwajeet Kadam's election from Palus-Kadegaon Assembly seat in the by-poll scheduled later this month is a mere formality as the main rival BJP has withdrawn from the race. The by-poll, scheduled on 28 May, was necessitated because of the death of sitting Congress MLA and former minister Patangrao Kadam.

The Congress had fielded his son Vishwajeet Kadam from the seat.

Ampati is considered to be a Congress stronghold where the party has fielded Mukul Sangma's daughter Miani D Shira against the National People's Party's Clement Momin.

Uttarakhand's Tharali seat fell vacant after BJP MLA Magan Lal Shah succumbed to swine flu in February 2018. Uttarakhand had voted the BJP to power in the assembly election in 2017.

In West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, the Maheshtala seat fell vacant after the two-time All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Kasturi Das dies in February 2018. The Congress extended support to CPI(M) candidate for the 28 May by-poll to Maheshtala Assembly seat in West Bengal, sparking speculation that the two parties might be coming closer to each other. The two parties had forged a coalition in Bengal for the 2016 assembly elections but parted ways after the CPI(M) central committee said the alliance was “not in consonance with the party line adopted in 2015”.

Jasdan legislative assembly in Gujarat fell vacant when Congress leader and five-time MLA of the constituency, Kuvarji Bavaliya, resigned from the constituency in July 2018.[30] The election for the constituency were held on 20 December 2018 and the result will be declared on 23 December 2018.[31] He won

The legislative assembly seat in Kolebira of Jharkhand state fell vacant after the disqualification of Enos Ekka, MLA of the constituency and a former minister in Jharkhand government.[32] He lost the membership from the state assembly in July 2018 after found guilty under sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of an offence committed), 364A (kidnapping for ransom), 171F (undue influence at an election) of the Indian Penal Code and the provisions of the Arms Act.[33]

• 2018 Assam Panchayat election[34]

Panchayat elections and municipal elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 from October 8 till December 11.[35] The last time Panchayat elections were held in the state were in 2011 and the last time municipal elections were held were in 2005.[36][37]

On 18 November, elections to the local bodies were held in Uttarakhand.