Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in the poll-bound states of Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are gearing up for the possibility of assembly elections being advanced by at least a month, as the electoral exercise scheduled for February next year will coincide with the Census enumeration exercise, people aware of the matter said .
The development signals a significant shift in electoral planning, with the party’s state units stepping up organisational readiness amid growing indications that polling dates could be rescheduled .
Why Elections May Be Advanced
The primary reason for considering bringing the polls forward is administrative in nature. The nationwide Census operation is scheduled for February 2027, overlapping with the traditional election timeline .
“Enumerators and polling personnel are likely to be drawn from the same pool—mostly teachers and government employees—which will lead to manpower shortage. The possibility of assembly polls being advanced has been discussed in all the states,” a senior BJP functionary told Hindustan Times .
In 2022, elections to all five states were held in February and the results were declared in March. The tenure of the assemblies in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur will expire in March 2027, while the Uttar Pradesh assembly’s term will end in May .
State-Wise Preparations
Uttar Pradesh
Party insiders in Uttar Pradesh indicate that a modest advancement of the election timetable is being considered to prevent overlap with the Census operation . Meanwhile, the BJP’s allies in the state—the Nishad Party and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP)—have already sought an early seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP ahead of the polls .
Uttarakhand
In Uttarakhand, party leaders are understood to favour an even earlier election schedule compared to other states. BJP national president Nitin Nabin recently held a meeting with the party’s Uttarakhand core committee, instructing office-bearers to create focused teams for booths where the BJP had lost in previous elections .
Nabin has directed the 17 state core committee members to tour all 70 assembly constituencies across June, July and August, with each member required to spend two days in every constituency, meeting local core committee members and gathering issues directly .
Punjab
The BJP has decided to go solo in the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections, contesting all 117 seats . A high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President Nitin Nabin was held in Delhi to review the election strategy .
Key issues expected to figure prominently in the party’s campaign include the drug menace, religious conversions, law and order, and the alleged misgovernance of the Aam Aadmi Party government .
Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon stated that the party will contest and win all 117 seats, aiming to form a ‘double-engine’ government in the state .
Goa
In Goa, where the BJP secured 20 of the Assembly’s 40 seats to return to power for a third successive term in 2022, election preparations have already gathered pace. Party workers are said to favour an early poll schedule, with the ruling dispensation keen to deny the opposition an opportunity to build momentum around contentious environmental and land-related issues .
Manipur’s Uncertain Timeline
While Manipur was otherwise scheduled to go to the polls with these four states, there is a possibility that elections there may be held at a later date given the sporadic instances of unrest in the state .
