This week on NL Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri and Raman Kirpal are joined by part of the team covering the elections for NL: Nidhi Suresh from Goa, Ayush Tiwari from Punjab, Basant Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, and Hridayesh Joshi from Uttarakhand.

The election team explains what it’s like on the ground and how they think the elections will play out. Nidhi talks about Goa’s strong “insider-outsider politics” and how Goans are “still sceptical of the newer parties that are contesting this year”.

Hridayesh talks about how the political scenario in Uttarakhand has changed, while Ayush breaks down the much talked about Sidhu dynamic in Punjab, saying, “It’s just in words and not on the ground. Rather, Bhagwant Mann has a bigger impact on people.” Basant says there have been “multiple issues” in UP but when it comes down to voting, “it’s the candidate that matters”.

The panel also talks about prime minister Narendra Modi’s recent speech in the Parliament and his interview with ANI. They discuss the hijab row in Karnataka and debate on whether it will impact the elections.

This and a lot more, only on NL Hafta.

Hafta letters: Assembly elections, Newslaundry's 10th anniversary, Karnataka hijab row

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