The month-long election cycle in the five states is underway and voters have already sealed the fates of their leaders in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram. The campaigning in Telangana and Rajasthan has picked up pace as political parties trade allegations and invoke corruption, crime, and even national security in the assembly elections to woo the voters.
Just months before the 2024 general elections, the five assembly election results are expected to set the tone for the national elections expected to be held in April and May next year. Of these five states, Rajasthan and the MP fall in the electorally significant 'Hindi Belt' that has been the home turf of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its politics of nationalism and Hindutva since its resurgence in 2014.
In Outlook's upcoming issue, we look at the month-long election cycle in India and how the ongoing Israel-Hamas War is playing out in the Gaza Strip. Large swathes of the enclave, one half of the envisioned State of Palestine, resemble a wasteland as a third of the houses have been destroyed and 1.5 million people remain displaced as Israel continues its relentless bombing campaign that has levelled houses and schools and has not spared hospitals either. Even as the Israeli forces appear to be firmly in control of the heart of the Gaza City, the Israeli campaign continues with no end in sight. Calls for ceasefire and greater humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians grow louder by the day.
In the assembly elections as well as in Gaza, we look at the developments from a human lens. While politicians talk about schemes and numbers, we seek voices of indigenous communities, minorities, and women, who often remain marginalised in the electoral discourse. In Gaza, we look at how the world is responding to the humanitarian disaster and also look at conflict through poetry.
