Situation in States

Before the country went in for general elections, there were noteworthy changes in state governments. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by Mayawati, won a majority in the assembly elections and formed the government in Uttar Pradesh. Her party’s victory is attributed to the fact that it had reached out to the higher castes among the Hindus besides the Muslims and not confined itself to the Dalits. After a long

time, the state was free of a coalition government. This brought stability to the state. In May 2008, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made an inroad in the South for the first time, forming the government in the state of Karnataka. In Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference emerged with the largest number of seats, and formed a government with the Congress joining as a junior coalition partner. In Gujarat, Chattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, the BJP was in power.