Articles by Abhishek Jha
In national politics, where does the BJP stand
Having lost the high stake battle to the TMC, the BJP will remain formidable — as a party which controls most of India’s Hindi speaking and northeastern states along with its traditional bastion of Gujarat and the politically turbulent southern state of Karnataka — but short of its goal
Updated on May 12, 2021 09:38 AM IST
Q1 2021-22 headed towards an ominous convergence with Q1 2020-21
What will be the economic impact of the second wave? We are still in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021-22. A lot will depend on the time it takes for the second wave to peak and how fast India can vaccinate its population
Updated on May 11, 2021 04:15 PM IST
Testing limited to urban clusters in Uttar Pradesh?
Official numbers in UP appear to contradict ground reports that testing is inadequate. Could tests being limited to some areas be skewing the data?
Updated on May 08, 2021 08:40 AM IST
Second wave spreading much faster in rural India than first
In the first four days of May, rural areas have contributed 1.39 times the number of new cases as urban areas.
Published on May 08, 2021 01:25 AM IST
, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Abhishek Jha3 crucial takeaways from Bengal results
Of the 292 ACs for which results have been declared, TMC and BJP won 290 . This is unprecedented in the history of the state and suggests that this election was the most polarised election West Bengal has ever seen.
Updated on May 04, 2021 07:26 AM IST
Roshan Kishore Abhishek Jha
Four key messages from the election results
There is no denying the fact that TMC’s big victory is a huge achievement for Mamata Banerjee, especially when seen in the backdrop of the reverses her party suffered in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Updated on May 03, 2021 08:32 AM IST
Roshan Kishore Abhishek Jha
TMC covers ground after Lok Sabha polls fright
The trends indicate that the TMC has made gains since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the BJP has lost ground.
Updated on May 03, 2021 08:32 AM IST
Roshan Kishore, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaPro-incumbency stops 2019-like roll out
The decision of the DMK and the AIADMK to contest more seats in these elections than in 2019 has also yielded different results in terms of strike rates.
Updated on May 03, 2021 08:33 AM IST
Roshan Kishore, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaAssam Election: Trends suggest deepening polarisation across state
The Congress, the main opposition party that ruled the state for 15 years from 2001 to 2016, has managed a seat share in the region of 20% for the fourth consecutive time in these elections.
Updated on May 03, 2021 08:37 AM IST
Roshan Kishore Abhishek Jha, New Delhi
LDF’s response to crises led to its return to power in Kerala
The current LDF government’s tenure was among the most crisis-ridden in the state’s history
Updated on May 03, 2021 08:36 AM IST
Abhishek Jha
Covid-19: Cost of vaccinating the 18-44 population
So far, seven state governments have declared that they will provide free vaccines
Updated on Apr 23, 2021 12:25 PM IST
, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Abhishek Jha Vineet Sachdev57% of India under curbs as deaths soar on Black Friday
Record cases added across the country even as tighter restrictions kick in.
Updated on Apr 17, 2021 06:14 AM IST
, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Vineet Sachdev Abhishek JhaHow will the second Covid wave affect India’s economy?
The curve of Covid-19 cases and mobility trends will have a direct bearing on the level of economic activity. India’s GDP went down by 24.4% in the quarter ending June 2020. According to the second advance estimates, 2020-21 is expected to suffer a GDP contraction of 7.96%
Updated on Apr 15, 2021 05:10 PM IST
Covid-19: The state of R in India
The effective R number takes into account factors relating to how the virus jumps from person to person (for instance, the basic infectivity if the virus, the probability of an actual infection during contact, and the duration of contagiousness.)
Published on Apr 14, 2021 08:32 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta Abhishek Jha
The Number Theory: Where is the second Covid-19 wave bigger than the first?
Is the second wave larger than the first everywhere or is that the case only in a few states? Has the rate of testing caught up with this higher second wave? HT analyses Covid-19 data to find out.
Updated on Apr 14, 2021 07:11 AM IST
, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaDecoding the 4th phase of voting in West Bengal
Voting in West Bengal has so far remained confined to the southern and western regions of the state. Saturday is the first time polling will take place in the northern half of the state.
Updated on Apr 10, 2021 07:18 AM IST
, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaCovid-19: Urban hot spots drive surge, in greater need of jab scale-up
Nearly half (48%) of all Covid-19 cases reported in India in March are from urban areas, which are home to just 14% of the population, with cities having the largest proportion of new infections since June 2020, according to an analysis by Hindustan Times.
Updated on Apr 08, 2021 05:28 AM IST
, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaAssembly 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
, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaSabarimala 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
Roshan Kishore, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaTamil 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 Kishore Abhishek 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
, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaFactors 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
, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaUp 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
, Mumbai
Prayag Arora-Desai Abhishek JhaWhat 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
, New Delhi
Vineet Sachdev Abhishek JhaDecoding 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
, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaSecond 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 Mullick Abhishek 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
Roshan Kishore, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaSix 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
, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Roshan Kishore and Abhishek JhaThe 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
Roshan Kishore, New Delhi
Abhishek JhaWhat 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 Kishore Abhishek Jha, Hindustan Times, New Delhi