KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 -- Of the 56 seats in Johor's state assembly, 21 changed hands in 2022 alone, a wave that wiped out Pakatan Harapan's 2018 breakthrough and handed Barisan Nasional a commanding comeback.

Seats once claimed as symbols of that historic upset, including Gambir and Parit Yaani, reverted to BN, while Perikatan Nasional also carved out new territory of its own.

As Johor returns to the polls on July 11, these same 21 constituencies, which sit on the volatile border between BN's rural strongholds and PH's urban bases, are shaping up to be the battlegrounds that decide the next government.

Redrawing the map

BN's path to victory in 2022 relied on reclaiming the ground lost during the 2018 wave. The coalition successfully c...