Indians tend to vote differently state elections compared to general elections. This is due to a variety of reasons that include differences in candidates fielded by political parties and the different issues at play in the two levels of elections.

At the national level, general election campaigns tend to focus on issues such as economic policies, defence, and central leaders. Contrarily, state elections come down to local governance, regional development, and caste or community-specific issues. In the past decades, we have seen that voters often cast ballots for national parties like the BJP or Congress in Lok Sabha elections but in the regional elections they support local parties because of the latter's grassroots organisations and connections. 

The rise of regional parties can be seen in States like West Bengal where the TMC reigns, and in Tamil Nadu where the DMK is supreme.

It was seen in 2019 when the BJP secured a massive victory in the general elections, but state elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand at the time saw voters show up for the Opposition or regional parties.

Some recent examples of this are:

Delhi: While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) managed a landslide victory in the 2020 state elections (62 out of 70 seats), the capital city's voters had gone all in with the BJP during the 2019 general elections, where the saffron party won all seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi.

Madhya Pradesh: MP demonstrated contrasting results in 2018 and 2019. The Congress won state elections in this region in 2018, forming local governments, but lost in 2019, with the BJP dominating the general elections.

Odisha: The BJD won the 2019 state elections decisively, yet the BJP made inroads to the Lok Sabha seats from Odisha in the general elections.

Karnataka: In 2018, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in state elections but failed to form a government initially. A year later, the party swept the elections winning most of the parliamentary seats.

Rajasthan: Known for its cyclical voting pattern, Rajasthan often votes out incumbent governments in state elections. In 2018, the Congress won the state elections, forming the government. However, in the 2019 general elections, the BJP won all of the State's 25 Lok Sabha seats.

Haryana: In the 2019 state elections, the BJP fell short of a majority, leading to a coalition government with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP). Yet, earlier that year, in the general elections, the BJP secured victory in nine of ten parliamentary constituencies in Haryana.