00:00Now India faces daunting political challenges in 2026. In fact, the stakes once again will be very high, particularly this time for the opposition parties.
00:11Because other than the four states and the one union territory, assembly elections are scheduled for the first half of 2026.
00:20In many of the states, it's the opposition that is in power, a Kerala, a Bengal and indeed a Tamil Nadu.
00:29So 2026 will open up with multiple challenges. There is of course also the first hurdle of the Special Intensive Revision or SIR that has caused so much of confusion.
00:43How will the state governments now respond to the SIR challenge and will elections be truly free and fair is a debate that continues to rage.
00:552025 also, remember, ended on a strange note of the Thakre cousins finally coming together in Maharashtra ahead of the local body elections, particularly the crucial Mumbai Municipal Corporation.
01:12How will that election result scheduled for January shape the politics of Mumbai's power corridors?
01:20And don't forget, there are power tussles taking place across the country, but nowhere quite as strident as in Karnataka, where the chief minister's rotational power share formula is still up in the air.
01:35Will Siddharamaya stick to his ground or will DK Shivkumar be able to fulfil his ambition?
01:45Will Karnataka once again become a game of musical power chairs?
01:51All that and much more as we look at the political challenges that lie ahead in 2026.
01:58A new year begins
02:13With new hopes and new challenges
02:21Indian politics in 2026 will have to evolve into cohesive, emphatic and responsive rather than reactive.
02:44Four states and a union territory vote in 2026.
02:49Opposition ruled power houses like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, along with BJP-ruled Assam and Puducherry will be choosing their next government.
03:06BJP eyes southern breakthroughs via alliances with AIADMK, but Dravidian resistance remains fierce.
03:13In Kerala, Pinaray Vijayan's CPIM faces anti-incumbency, potentially fragmenting left votes.
03:28In West Bengal, Trinamul Congress faces charges of misgovernance as far as law and order and corruption is concerned.
03:37BJP hopes to graduate from the opposition bench in Bengal Assembly to the ruling side.
03:44But the bigger challenge is to defeat the cult of the 15-year-old Chief Minister, Mahmouda Banerji.
03:52And her trademark politics of Maa, Maati, Manush.
03:59And her trademark politics of Maa, Maati, Manush.
04:04While Kolkata and part of South Bengal might tilt towards the saffron, rural Bengal might still favour the Trinamul for its welfare schemes.
04:26For its larger-than-life leader, Mahmouda Banerji.
04:41In Assam and Puducherry, BJP faces anti-incumbency challenges.
04:45The 10-year-old BJP government with Himanto Biswasarma, as the Chief Minister for the past five years, has to deal with allegations of governance lapses and social tensions, creating potential openings for challenges.
05:02The opposition led by the Congress and regional parties, like the Assam Gana Parishad, will seek to exploit local issues such as unemployment and environmental concerns.
05:19In Puducherry, NTA will try hard to remain the union territory within its flank while it spreads its footprints across the state.
05:27The election commission will be announcing special intensive revision of electoral rolls round three and what remains to be seen is how the commission tackled the charges of time pressure and logistics challenges that in the previous round allegedly drove some BLOs to commit suicide.
05:46Besides, the opposition allegations of Vote Chaudi will remain a thorn in the side of the poll body as four states and one union territory vote for new governments.
06:02In Maharashtra, the BJP Shiv Sena NCP Alliance teeters amid corruption allegations against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shindig.
06:20Parivas like the Thakre cousins and Pawaz made moves to come together.
06:31The coming together of the giant political families ironing out the rifts will definitely impact local body elections to be held in the first month of 2026.
06:41The results of this election will certainly have a ripple effect in the state politics.
06:50Externally, 2026 brings intensified border frictions.
06:55China's build-up in Ladakh persist post-2020 Galwan with satellite imagery revealing new halipads.
07:02Pakistan's sponsored terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir surges testing Home Minister Amit Shah's zero-tolerance policy.
07:13India and Pakistan continue to stand the opposite sides of peace.
07:17Wounds from the Pahal Gaam attack of 2025 and the Operation Sindur that followed are yet to be healed.
07:24The deadline approaches while the government in the past couple of years showed remarkable progress in infiltrating the Red Corridor and eliminating Red Brigade either through encounters or surrenders.
07:51What remains to be seen is that the development initiatives carried out by the government ensures that there is no resurgence in Red Rebellion in future.
08:05On the side of the opposition, 2026 could turn out to be a pivotal one.
08:10The Indy bloc's unity, fragile after past two years of electoral failures, hinges on Congress's leadership capability to keep it together.
08:19In the run-up to 2029 general elections, it is important that Congress as the main opposition party finds a stronger foothold and not deter.
08:32In this scheme of things, what happens in Karnataka in 2026 will play a crucial role.
08:38Telangana and Karnataka are the only two states where Congress is in power.
08:45Out of the two in Karnataka, the power tussle between Siddharamaya and DK Shiva Kumar has been going on since the day the poll verdict was announced in 2024.
08:56There were expectations of power sharing between the two after completing the halfway mark for the five-year term.
09:06Siddharamaya has announced that he will serve a full term leaving the DK's camp disappointed.
09:12Siddharamaya and Karnataka are the only one in Karnataka.
09:22Siddharamaya and Karnataka are the only two states.
09:25If there is a change of power in the state, it will be only DK Shukumar, nobody else.
09:38No other leaders are in the race according to AICC sources.
09:41Still it has not been whatever the party high commanders, myself and Siddharamaya, we are there to adhere by it and we will go by it.
09:52In this troubled water, Karnataka Home Minister Ji Parmeshwara has also joined in as possible candidate for Chief Minister Musical Chair.
10:01Somebody asked me, are you in the race?
10:04Where is the race as such?
10:06Is there a race?
10:08You know, casually, I said yes, I am always, always there.
10:13You know, every time there is talk about this, there is always my name props up.
10:19So that is why I said that.
10:22The Congress High Command needs to keep the flock together and deliver good governance in a state where crumbling civic amenities and rising corruption charges challenge the stability of Karnataka government.
10:34Bureau Report, India Today.
10:37Bureau Report, India Today.
10:39Bureau Report, India Today.
10:40Bureau Report, India Today.
10:42Bureau Report, India Today.
10:43Bureau Report, India Today.
10:44Bureau Report, India Today.
10:45Bureau Report, India Today.
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