The 12 states of the East account for more than a fourth of the 543 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP, a relatively minor player in the region till 2014, is on a rising curve and the once-dominant Congress is struggling for political salience. Two big regional forces--the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and the Biju Janata Dal in Odisha--are likely to play pivotal roles in determining which national party gets to occupy the treasury benches in the next Lok Sabha.