Assembly polls: Game changer on the cards

The curtains have come down on the campaign for the Assembly polls in the tiny north-eastern state of Mizoram and for the first phase of polling in Chhattisgarh where voters will exercise their franchise on November 7.

Chhattisgarh is the only state where polls would be held in two phases — November 7 and 17 with 20 out of the 90 Assembly constituencies voting in the first phase and the remaining constituencies on November 17.

Mizoram with 40 Assembly seats will vote on November 7 along with the first phase in Chhattisgarh with the results expected to be declared on December 3.

The other poll-bound states - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana - will vote on November 17, 23 and 30. All eyes will be on the results on December 3 for these polls are considered a litmus test of the general mood prevalent in the country.

It will reveal the thinking of the masses and if the policies of the Narendra Modi led government at the Centre find favour with the common man. The picture will also become amply clear on whether the opposition parties mainly the Congress, have been able to make a dent in the vote bank of the BJP.

The nation will be keenly watching whether the opposition has been able to diminish the PM’s popularity with its aggressive campaign in Parliament and outside on the Adani issue, the targeting of opposition leaders by central agencies and on inflationary trends in the economy.

The polls will prove whether the INDIA alliance of opposition parties, which is still in its formative stages, will be able to present an effective bulwark against the saffronists when the Lok Sabha polls are due in five months from now.

As far as the BJP is concerned what stands out in these polls is their decision not to name a CM candidate in any of the states and instead fight for the honours under a collective leadership. Most analysts had expected former CM Vasundhara Raje to be the frontrunner for CM in Rajasthan where the BJP is fighting the ruling Congress.

The fact that she has not been nominated the CM face, shows that the central leadership has other considerations in mind. Some central ministers and MPs are fighting the polls - which goes to prove that ‘tectonic changes’ could be in the offing when the poll process is over and the time comes for the party to elect a leader.

Union ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat have left no stone unturned to prove their clout and make sure their loyalists get Assembly poll tickets. In Madhya Pradesh too, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, despite being the longest serving CM of the state, has not got the green signal from the high command for CM this time.

There are many in the BJP who have their eyes on the CM’s post including Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Narendra Singh Tomar, who has also entered the fray.

Other Union ministers who have decided to contest the state polls are Faggan Singh Kulaste and Prahlad Patel and this development makes it evident that the BJP has an open mind as far as the CM choice is concerned if it is able to return to power in the state.

Though the polls will reveal the popular mood in only five states, it goes without saying that an adverse result for the ruling BJP is sure to lead to a huge churning ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Madhya Pradesh which the BJP wrested from the Congress after a series of defections from the Grand Old Party, is no doubt the prize catch and a loss of face in this central Indian state or even in Rajasthan, is sure to be a game changer in Indian politics.