Lok Sabha Polls 2019: How Will the Alliances Stack Up?

What will be the impact of pre-poll alliances, being forged by the NDA and the Opposition, on the Lok Sabha polls?

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With the battle lines drawn ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, with the BJP-led NDA on one side and a ‘unified’ Opposition on the other, there appeared to be no clear front-runner till the turn of the year.

But the Pulwama terror attack, and its aftermath, seems to have hurt the Opposition’s chances and swung the perception battle back in favour of the ruling dispensation.

This, then, raises a few pertinent questions:

Are alliances going to be key in this election? Will the 2019 polls end up being a battle of personalities? If so, who is ahead in the perception game at this stage?

To take stock of what is happening this election season, and to analyse the impact of the various alliances being formed, senior journalist Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay and Editorial Director of Business Standard AK Bhattacharya join in on the discussion.