BJP wins 3 major states; Congress wins Telangana
It was a saffron wave all the way as the BJP took power in three of the four major states whose assembly election results were declared on Sunday, December 3.
Only Telangana went to an INDIA coalition partner, Congress. It defeated its fellow coalition partner, Bharat Rashtra Samithi by a comfortable margin.
Whether that would affect the coalition’s unity with respect to the general election next year is an open question. NCP’s Sharad Pawar, the coalition’s seniormost leader, though, said it would not, and so did all the major opposition leaders.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan was the only chief minister to buck the anti-incumbency trend as he led the BJP to another term in power. ‘Mama’, as he is popularly known as, is most likely to serve a fifth term as chief minister.
His neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh became BJP bastions once again.
The electorate in Rajasthan stayed true to its way of giving another party the chance after five years, a trend seen for almost 25 years now. But former chief minister Gehlot and former state Congress chief Sachin Pilot’s being at each other’s necks all the time for five years was a major, if not the only, reason for the defeat.
Chhattisgarh was a surprise result for most, though the BJP may not admit it. Most of the exit polls had predicted a Congress win.
All the BJP leaders credited the party’s wins to Narendra Modi’s leadership and Amit Shah’s strategy.
Counting for the 40-member Mizoram Assembly election is scheduled to start at 8 am on Monday, December 4. The ruling Mizo National Front, an ally of the NDA at the Centre, holds a high chance of winning though Zoram People’s Movement will likely give it a good fight.
