The year 2022 ended with bitter fought Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Congress sees the win in Himachal Pradesh as its revival while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to retain Gujarat beating 27 years of anti-incumbency.
With only one and a half years have left for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP, Congress and other regional players will fight the battle in nine states next year to consolidate their position before the final test. Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Tripura and Telangana will go to polls in 2023. The government may also conduct the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir next year, IANS reported.
The BJP has already kick-started its preparation for the general elections with a series of meeting in Delhi and other states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have now set their eyes on northeast where 4 states will go to polls next year. The two leaders have recently made a trip to the region, sounding the poll bugle.
Earlier this month, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had asked state in-charges for holding mass movements and sought a schedule of planned programmes in states where the Assembly elections are due next year.
Here’s look at the position of the BJP and other parties in nine states where Assembly elections are due next year:
Rajasthan
Congress snatched power before the BJP in 2018, winning 100 seats in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly. The BJP, which won a thumping majority winning 163 seats in 2013, could secure only 73 seats in 2018. The state would again see a dual contest between the BJP and Congress in 2023. Since 1990, the power in Rajasthan has oscillated between the BJP and Congress.
The rift between CM Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot has made it difficult for Congress to unitedly fight the 2023 polls. However, both were seen together at Bharat Jodo Yatra with Rahul Gandhi trying to diffuse the situation at least for now.
Holding both leaders’ hands, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal had said, “We are united. Here Ashok Ji and Sachin Pilot Ji have said that the Congress party in Rajasthan is united.”
Chhattisgarh
In 2018, Congress swept majority, winning 68 seats in the 90-member Assembly and ended 15-year rule of the BJP, which was decimated to 15 seats. The ruling Congress retained Bhanupratappur Assembly seat in the recently held bypoll.
Madhya Pradesh
Congress removed 15-year rule of the BJP in 2018, securing 114 seats in the 230-member Assembly and formed the government with Independent legislators. However, two years later, Shivraj Singh Chouhan returned to power after 22 sitting Congress MLAs along with Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from the party to join the BJP.
Karnataka
The BJP emerged as the single largest party in 2018 but failed to secure majority in 224-seat Karnataka Assembly. Later, Congress and Janata Dal (S) entered into a coalition to form the government under HD Kumarasamy as chief minister. However, 14 months later, more than a dozen of MLAs resigned as ruling coalition legislators, resulted in the collapse of Kumaraswamy government. In July 2019, BS Yediyurappa returned as the chief minister once again. Last year in July, Yediyurappa resigned from the post and was replaced by Basavaraj Bommai.
Telangana
K Chandrashekhar Rao’s Telangana Rashtra Samithi won the last two assembly elections. TRS (now called the Bharatha Rashtra Samithi) has recently secured Munugode seat in the high-stake bypoll. The BJP has been making inroads in Telangana and gave a tough fight to the TRS in Munugode battle while the Congress party’s position is on the decline.
The BJP’s vote share has increased over the past few years after winning the first bypoll (Dubakka seat) in 2020. TRS rebel Eatala Rajender who defected to the BJP won on lotus symbol in the 2021 Huzurabad bypoll.
TRIPURA
The BJP swept power in Tripura winning 35 seats in the 2018 Assembly elections. But the difference of vote margin between the BJP and its challenger Left was less than 2% in the 60-member Assembly. The BJP replaced Biplab Deb as chief minister with Manik Saha, a strategy it has used in several other states to beat anti-incumbency. The party has recently rejigged the organization at the state level, setting up 30 panels to take care of poll duties.
The BJP ties with its key ally — tribal outfit Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) have strained and a decision has not been taken yet if their alliance would continue. Besides the Congress, the Left and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the BJP also faces a threat from Tipra Motha which had secured a landslide victory in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
MEGHALAYA
In 2018, Congress emerged as the single largest party but failed to secure majority in 60-member assembly. The BJP, which won only 2 seats, joined hands with the National People’s Party (NPP) to form the government in the state. But this time, NPP supremo and chief minister Conrad Sangma announced his party would contest 2023 election alone.
Trinamool Congress, which failed to open account in last polls, is also trying to make inroads in Meghalaya. TMC president Mamata Banerjee and her party General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee visited the state for a 3-day trip.
NAGALAND
The BJP entered into an alliance with Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) ahead of 2018 Nagaland polls and formed the government. The BJP is planning to field candidates in 20 constituencies and support NDPP candidates in 40 others in the 2023 elections, according to India Today.
Last month, three district presidents of Nagaland BJP switched over to the Janata Dal (United). Another headache of the BJP-led alliance is the demand of a separate state by seven tribes by carving out 16 districts of Nagaland.
MIZORAM
In October this year, Mizoram BJP chief Vanlalhmuaka announced that his party will contest from all 40 assembly seats in Mizoram in 2023 election. At present, Mizo National Front government is in power. Zoramthanga-led party won 26 out of the 40 seats in the 2018 Assembly elections and decimated the Congress to 5. The BJP also opened its account in Mizoram for the first time in 2018. The MNF is a part of both NDA at Centre and the BJP-led NEDA in the region.
Read all the Latest Politics News here
Comments
0 comment