DIFFICULT STATES FOR TEAM BJP

West Bengal

42 Lok Sabha seats

Mamata Banerjee continues to hold ground. The BJP’s vote share has increased but is still way behind the Trinamool Congress. The suspense over whether or not to support Darjeeling also troubles the party.

Tamil Nadu

39 Lok Sabha seats

The BJP flirts with AIADMK, but the latter is embroiled in internal troubles after the death of J Jayalalithaa. Its efforts to woo stars haven’t yielded results yet. The DMK is eyeing revival and prefers Congress over BJP.

Odisha

21 Lok Sabha seats

The BJP lacks a leader with mass appeal. The state unit is faction-ridden and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is showing signs of recovery after a setback in panchayat polls.

Kerala

20 Lok Sabha seats

State’s politics continue to be bi-polar between CPM and the Congressled alliance. The BJP has tried to make inroads but hasn’t tasted much electoral success. The party faces a hostile CPM and its relationship with the Church is cold.

Delhi

7 Lok Sabha seats

The Aam Aadmi Party retains its hold over the national capital. BJP’s experiment with a poorvanchali (Manoj Tiwari) hasn’t worked. Feuding continues in the state unit.