India is a little over a year away from the high-octane election campaign. The new year 2023 will set the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third straight term, with the Bharatiya Janata Party banking on his popularity.
“Modi vs Who” is the question echoing across the country. Congress, facing its worst since falling from power in 2014, is banking on Rahul Gandhi’s “Bharat Jodo Yatra” to restore the connection with the masses eroded after Modi’s triumph eight years ago.
Then there are regional satraps like Mamata Banerjee, who chanted the “Khela Hobe” (Game On) war cry against the BJP. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao is seeking a third straight term when the state goes to the polls
December.
The Aam Aadmi party led by Arvind Kejriwal had a great 2022. The ten-year-old party formed the Punjab government in a landslide victory. At the end of the year she prevailed in the general elections in Gujarat with five seats and a share of the vote of 13 percent. In the national capital, AAP won the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections, ending the BJP’s 15-year rule in the legislature.
The new year will witness a long election season with nine states going to the polls. Here is a list of the precincts that will be hit by election fever.
Madhya Pradesh
In December 2018, Congress wrested central government from the BJP and, after a scramble for the CM post, formed the government under Kamal Nath. But 15 months later, 23 MLAs resigned from the party due to allegiance to his then party colleague Jyotiraditya Scindia.
After the Grand Old Party became a minority following the resignations in the Assembly, Nath resigned hours before a Supreme Court-ordered confidence vote. BJP star Shivraj Singh Chouhan returned to power in the state he ruled for 13 years from 2005 to 2018. Elections to the 230-member assembly are due later in the year and will be a litmus test for Chouhan.
Rajasthan
The desert state has a long tradition of not repeating governments in elections. Congress ended Vasundhara Raje’s rule in 2018. The party high command had elected veteran Ashok Gehlot as prime minister in place of young Sachin Pilot. But the battle for leadership escalated when the latter, along with his MLAs, hosted a dharna outside of Raj Bhavan in 2020.
Although Pilot returned to the flock after the Gandhi’s intervention, his ties with the Prime Minister were damaged beyond repair. In a recent interview, Gehlot described his political opponent as a “traitor”. Elections to the 200-member assembly will take place in December this year.
Chhattisgarh
In 2018, Congress decimated the BJP by winning 68 out of 90 seats. The Saffron Party was ousted from power after a 15-year rule in the tribal-dominated state. The Congress High Command elected Bhupesh Baghel as head of state. However, the Congressional government’s takeover was marred by a reported dispute between the CM and Health Minister TS Singh Deo.
Karnataka
Union Interior Minister Amit Shah on Saturday described Karnataka as a gateway to the south for the BJP. The Saffron Party, which formed the government in 2019 after the collapse of the Congress-JDS administration, faces a difficult task in maintaining its sole southern bastion. Congress is hoping for a return to power in the home state of party leader Mallikarjun Kharge. However, the Grand Old Party must capitalize on reported dissatisfaction with the ruling BJP dispensation in the state.
Telangana
On October 5, K Chandrasekhar Rao renamed his Telangana Rashtra Samithi party to Bharat Rashtra Samithi. The move sent a clear message that KCR, as the CM is popularly known, is looking to expand his party nationally. Like Mamata, the 68-year-old leader has rallied regional leaders to unite against PM Modi in 2024.
Tripura
In the spring of 2018, the BJP decimated Red Bastion in this northeastern state. After 25 years of left rule ended, the Saffron Party elected Biplab Deb as head of state. On May 15th of this year, Deb resigned and Rajya Sabha MP Manik Saha took over as CM. The BJP is devastated by the departure of its top politicians. The TMC has aggressively attempted to invade the state.
Meghalaya
In the 2018 election, Congress emerged as the largest single party with 21 seats. However, it was outsmarted when the BJP cobbled together a two-seat majority government led by Conrad Sangma with the National People’s Party (19 seats) and other regional parties.
Nagaland
In 2018, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party and the BJP won 29 seats in the general elections held that year. With the help of the National People’s Party, a JDU MLA and an Independent, the coalition formed the government.
Last year, the main opposition party, the Naga People’s Front, announced its decision to join the government. In April of that year, 21 of the NPF’s 26 MLAs joined the government and left the state with no opposition.
mizoram
The northeastern state has a 40-member assembly and is governed by the Mizo National Front, which is a member of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance. However, the Zoramthanga-led MNF does not work with the state’s Saffrom party.
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