Elections 2021: Back Our Ground Reports, Become a Member

The Quint’s reporters Ishadrita Lahiri (left), Smitha TK (centre), and Tridip Mandal (right) are bringing you ground reports from West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Assam, respectively.

(Image: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

As four states and a Union Territory hurtle towards Assembly elections, we at The Quint have rolled up our sleeves and waded into the many battlegrounds, with our reporters bringing you honest and unbiased stories from the ground.

However, unrelenting, undeterred, and unbiased journalism is expensive.

The travel and production cost to cover the elections intricately from the ground – as we intend to – will add up to approximately Rs 16.2 lakh.

And here's where we need your support, so our reporters can do their job exactly the way it should be done, and better. BECOME A MEMBER and help us keep going!

What we are bringing to you this election season!(Image: The Quint)

What We Have Done So Far

In Bengal, whether it was the alleged attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram, which is undoubtedly a high-stakes battle zone, a ‘No Vote to BJP’ rally in Kolkata, or the ruckus at the city’s iconic Coffee House, we made our presence felt on the ground.

Our reporters, Ishadrita Lahiri and Debayan Dutta, turned the camera away from the politicians – and on to the people, as they attempt to capture the pulse of the state, un-muffled by the jangle of political promises. And we have started from the epicentre.

In Tamil Nadu, we focus on highlighting the lesser-known intricacies of the state’s – largely Dravidian – politics.

The Quint’s Smitha TK recently travelled to one of the state’s intensely populated, yet overlooked, constituencies, to gauge what locals want – and require. Smitha has also delved, through the course of her other reports, into caste equations pertaining to key political parties, and ‘secular alliances’ in the state.

We also attempt to tap into the spirit of Assam and find out how much of it has been altered by the anti-CAA movement and the NRC exercise in the state. The Quint’s Tridip Mandal recently deconstructed how likely Assam’s Sivasagar is to vote for Raijor Dal candidate Akhil Gogoi – an activist who was arrested amid anti-CAA protests in the state, and is still languishing in prison.

But brave, hard-hitting, unrelenting journalism isn’t easy. Your support will help our reporters do their job exactly the way it should to be done, and better.

So hop on for this exciting, electoral journey!