Abhishek Jha is a data journalist. He analyses public data for finding news, with a focus on the environment, Indian politics and economy, and Covid-19.
Articles by Abhishek Jha
Assembly elections: The biggest phase of them all...
All of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry vote on April 6. Polling will come to an end in Assam after the last 40 ACs vote on April 6.
Updated on Apr 06, 2021 04:58 AM IST
Abhishek Jha, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Sabarimala to BJP: Key factors at play in Kerala
What has made these elections more unpredictable is the LDF’s strong comeback in the local body polls held in December 2020, where it won a majority of seats at all levels.
Updated on Apr 05, 2021 04:56 AM IST
Abhishek JhaRoshan Kishore, New Delhi
Tamil Nadu: An election that is Stalin's to lose
The only person to have retained the chief minister’s post in back-to-back elections in Tamil Nadu before 2016 was Jayalalithaa’s mentor M G Ramachandran.
Updated on Apr 05, 2021 08:54 AM IST
Roshan KishoreAbhishek Jha
India Covid-19 curve beats US, set to surpass Brazil
In the seven days till Friday, India recorded 68,969 new cases a day on average. On the same day, the US recorded 65,753 while Brazil recorded 72,151 new cases a day over a week’s period.
Updated on Apr 04, 2021 06:19 AM IST
Abhishek Jha, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Factors at play in Bengal, Assam 2nd-phase voting
Here are three charts explaining the importance of the second phase of polling in West Bengal and Assam.
Published on Apr 01, 2021 07:33 AM IST
Abhishek Jha, New Delhi
Up in flames: Maharashtra's saga of forest fires
Signs of fire are, in fact, conspicuous along the Murbad-Kalyan highway as one drives toward Shilottar in Thane’s Shahapur taluka
Updated on Mar 30, 2021 02:24 PM IST
Prayag Arora-DesaiAbhishek Jha, Mumbai
What explains the focus on financial assistance to women in these polls?
In Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK alliance, the DMK alliance and Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam have announced monthly monetary assistance to women heads of households.
Published on Mar 29, 2021 01:56 AM IST
Vineet SachdevAbhishek Jha, New Delhi
Decoding the first phase of West Bengal and Assam elections
Assam will vote in two more phases, to be held on April 1 and April 6. West Bengal will vote in seven more phases and polling will culminate on April 29.
Published on Mar 27, 2021 02:10 AM IST
Abhishek Jha, New Delhi
Second surge of Covid-19 infections quicker than first wave
India on Thursday reported 59,074 new Covid-19 infections, the highest in a single day since October 17, or in 159 days, as the country’s second Covid-19 wave continued to push daily case numbers up to levels not seen since the first wave was brought under control last November.
Updated on Mar 26, 2021 04:25 AM IST
Jamie MullickAbhishek Jha, New Delhi
Can Congress reclaim Assam with an alliance?
The Congress, which ruled the state for 15 years from 2001 to 2016, has changed its electoral tactics and stitched together an alliance to leverage the consolidation of a previously fragmented anti-BJP vote base to recapture power in the state.
Published on Mar 26, 2021 04:11 AM IST
Abhishek JhaRoshan Kishore, New Delhi
Six factors which will decide the 2021 West Bengal contest
West Bengal is expected to be a bipolar contest between the TMC and the BJP. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, these two parties cornered 83.5% of the total votes polled and 97% of the total 294 assembly constituencies, if results are disaggregated at that level
Updated on Mar 25, 2021 02:36 PM IST
Roshan Kishore and Abhishek Jha, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
The role of language and religion in Assam battle
While the state’s politics is driven by many factors, the larger issue is the dynamic between language and religion.
Published on Mar 24, 2021 02:49 AM IST
Abhishek JhaRoshan Kishore, New Delhi
What makes electoral politics in Kerala unique?
Kerala is not the only state where political power changes hands regularly. Tamil Nadu had this tradition for 32 uninterrupted years, until J Jayalalithaa led the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) to a consecutive victory in the 2016 elections.
Updated on Mar 20, 2021 06:32 AM IST
Roshan KishoreAbhishek Jha, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
What does it take to win Assam? A fine balance between religion and language
If there is one state in India where migration is a big issue, it is Assam. There are multi-layered political fault lines in Assam, which encompass caste, religion, linguistic nationality, migration and deprivation
Updated on Mar 27, 2021 10:50 AM IST
Abhishek Jha and Roshan Kishore
3 states face risk of being next Covid-19 hot spots
Maharashtra leads the pack but Punjab, MP and Haryana also see their positivity rates rise higher than the average national rise of 1.4 percentage points; Kerala the only state to see its positivity rate drop over the past 30 days
Updated on Mar 20, 2021 10:52 AM IST
Jamie MullickAbhishek Jha, New Delhi
Kerala: A state of multi-layered bipolar polity
The southern state has a uniquely multicultural society and there are entrenched pockets of support for various political actors in different parts of Kerala
Updated on Mar 19, 2021 01:45 PM IST
Roshan Kishore and Abhishek Jha, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Which way for Dravidian politics in Tamil Nadu in 2021?
2021 elections will be interesting as far as Tamil Nadu’s long-term political landscape is concerned.
Updated on Mar 16, 2021 01:39 PM IST
Abhishek JhaRoshan Kishore, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Tamil Nadu assembly polls: Which way will Dravidian politics swing in 2021?
Whether Tamil Nadu maintains its trend of declining victory margins, the growing footprint of the two major Dravidian parties will only be known on May 2.
Updated on Mar 16, 2021 03:55 PM IST
Abhishek JhaRoshan Kishore, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Never-ending fragility grips Indian workforce
The June quarter numbers capture the period of the hard lockdown, and things have improved since then, as can be seen from the GDP numbers.
Updated on Mar 12, 2021 09:45 AM IST
Abhishek Jha, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
West Bengal election 2021: How TMC is countering BJP’s polarisation bid
The Trinamool Congress’s ticket distribution strategy in the forthcoming elections – it is the only party to have declared all its candidates so far – shows a clear pattern that it is trying to counter BJP’s strategy.
Updated on Mar 27, 2021 10:50 AM IST
Roshan Kishore and Abhishek Jha
Why reservation may fail in levelling the field
From SC-ST social groups, reservations have expanded to OBCs, economically weaker sections
Published on Mar 09, 2021 01:58 AM IST
Roshan KishoreAbhishek Jha
Total factories in India grew by 2% in 2018-19
The top three states by GVA were Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. They had a share of 41% in the total GVA. Rural India added nearly as much GVA (49%) as urban India (51%).
Published on Mar 06, 2021 01:51 AM IST
Abhishek Jha, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Most cities low on economic ability
The last, which has a weight of almost one-third in the rankings, is a completely subjective parameter.
Published on Mar 05, 2021 01:58 AM IST
Abhishek Jha, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Urban areas still more vulnerable to coronavirus but cases now evenly spread
While India seems to have so far escaped a second wave of Covid-19 infections, tracking the geography of the pandemic in the country over the last one year makes for an interesting analysis.
Published on Mar 01, 2021 04:43 AM IST
Abhishek Jha, New Delhi
Five charts that explain the upcoming elections
Three out of the four states going to polls; Assam, West Bengal and Kerala are also the top three states by share of Muslims in the population. With 26.7% Muslims and 16.6% Christians, Kerala has the lowest share of Hindus -- to be sure, they are still a majority – among India’s important states.
Updated on Mar 27, 2021 10:53 AM IST
Abhishek JhaRoshan Kishore
Congress needs to worry more about rebels than opponents in Puducherry
The only time the Congress has lost Puducherry, it has been because of a rebel. The Congress and DMK together have won over 50% seats in every assembly elections in Puducherry since 1980, except in 2011
Updated on Feb 22, 2021 06:32 PM IST
Abhishek Jha, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
The lessons to be drawn from Chamoli disaster
The effects of the climate crisis on Uttarakhand’s weather patterns and their impact on the environment’s capacity to sustain damage being done by the construction of dams makes the state particularly vulnerable.
Updated on Feb 20, 2021 10:01 AM IST
Abhishek JhaJayashree Nandi, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Number Theory: What does mobility data tell us about the state of the economy?
While mobility has been increasing continuously, its recovery is relatively slower when compared to NIBRI. To be sure, mobility levels had reached 90% of pre-lockdown values (median value for the day of the week in the January 3, 2020 to February 6, 2020 period) in December 2020 itself.
_1613080010350_1613080017322_1613427531630.jpg "The latest NIBRI numbers indicate a moderation in labour participation rate (LPR), which is defined as the share of working age population working of looking for a job.(Reuters)")
Published on Feb 16, 2021 03:51 AM IST
Abhishek Jha
No Covid death in Delhi first time since May 11
According to government data, the highest number of Covid-19 cases in a day (8,593) was recorded on November 11, and on November 18, the city recorded the highest number of single-day deaths (131).
Updated on Feb 10, 2021 06:11 AM IST
Anonna DuttAbhishek Jha, New Delhi
Path to a just transition to lower CO2 emissions
Even at the time these lockdowns were imposed, an improvement in indicators of air quality raised hopes that a world with lower emissions from burning of fossil fuels was not an unachievable target.
Published on Feb 09, 2021 03:14 AM IST
Abhishek Jha, New Delhi
