The major players in the Punjab assembly election 2017, scheduled to be held on February 4th, are the Shriomani Akali Dal, Bharatiya Janata Party, Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress.
In the 2012 election, the BJP-SAD alliance secured a majority (59 are needed) in the 117-member assembly and formed the government. The two parties are once again contesting together in 2017.
The AAP is making its debut in the assembly elections; they contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
Rediff Labs analysed the 2012 assembly election results along with the 2014 Lok sabha results to develop a Sentiment Meter for the 2017 electoral battle.
A mathematical model is used to calculate how seat distribution will be altered as sentiment/percentage of votes towards a contesting political party changes. Based on the change, each constituency is marked with the winning party. A swing represents that the victory margin is close to the runner-up party.
Move the pointer on the Sentiment Meter (depending on who you think will get more votes) towards the political parties to see how the outcome is likely to change.
For more data driven journalism, check out Rediff Labs.
