Nightlight and incumbency: Did BJP benefit from growing economic activities in large parts of UP?

By IDP Team, BIPP Mar 15, 2022

The India Data Portal at ISB's BIPP mapped the change in economic activities for five years across all 403 UP assembly constituencies based on nightlight data.389 constituencies out of 403 have shown a positive change in total radiance, indicating a surge in economic activities. Talking about this, Professor Ashwini Chhatre said, "We have tracked nightlight data of the four states that went to the polls recently. While expansion between 2015-2019 was marginal in Punjab, the dip in the pandemic year of 2020 was quite substantial. In the case of Uttar Pradesh, expansion, albeit on a low base, was significant, and the pandemic-induced dip relatively small." Read more in India Today