[20220221]IN11865_印度2022年州选举：预览.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Indias 2022 State Elections: A Preview February 21, 2022 Overview Some Members of Congress express concern about the state of Indian democracy and human rights. Five of Indias 28 states are conducting elections to seat state legislators to five-year terms; results are to be announced on March 10. The outcomes may provide indications of the current strength of Prime Minister Narendra Modis national-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of national elections scheduled for early 2024. State assemblies elect state government heads, known as chief ministers (CMs). BJP CMs are incumbent in the bellwether state of Uttar Pradesh (UP, population 200 million), as well as in Uttarakhand (11 million), Manipur (3 million), and Goa (1.5 million); of the five, only Punjab (30 million) has an incumbent non-BJP CM, a member of the Indian National Congress Party (or “Congress”). These elections are widely seen as a referendum on the BJPs performance after it won national reelection in 2019. Analysts contend that a BJP defeat in any of the four states it controlsespecially UPwould suggest public dissatisfaction is growi