Six states to watch

While this election looks predictable in large swathes of our political landscape, it is also more keenly contested than 2019 in some states

How well-contested is this election going to be? If you are a Narendra Modi or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter, you would say this is the least unpredictable election ever and 400 should be expected for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). If you are an Opposition backer, you might say this election will turn out like 2004, where Vajpayee’s NDA, the favourite, lost.

There’s a curious buildup as the votes in the first phase are cast. There are so many “opinion polls” on TV channels — whose methodology you know nothing about — predicting the same thing: A BJP tally bigger