Indian Thought Latest News & Views
New Delhi. There are many big lessons in the results of Tuesday’s by-elections on 29 assembly seats and three Lok Sabha seats. Shivraj Singh Chouhan has cemented his position as chief minister in Madhya Pradesh and pacified his critics. At the same time, the chair of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur in Himachal Pradesh may be in turmoil after a big defeat. Himachal Pradesh is the home state of BJP national president JP Nadda. In West Bengal, Mamta Banerjee has won a landslide victory in all the four assembly seats. Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assam and Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan have proved their selection as the Chief Minister.
Himachal Pradesh results are a warning for BJP as now only one year is left for the main assembly elections. Generally, the ruling party gets an edge in by-elections. But the Congress won all the three assembly seats. Along with this, the Congress also won the important Lok Sabha seat. Congress’s Pratibha Singh won this seat with a small margin. Pratibha Singh is the wife of late Virbhadra Singh, former Chief Minister of the state.
This is more shocking because Himachal Pradesh is the home state of JP Nadda. There is a clear anti-incumbency wave against Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur in the state. There was also this discussion some time ago that they can be removed before the elections. There is even more difficulty for Jai Ram Thakur because after the death of Virbhadra Singh, people have sympathy for his family. The Congress has secured 49 per cent votes in the by-elections.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan has put an end to all the apprehensions about his future as Chief Minister in Madhya Pradesh. BJP has won the Khandwa Lok Sabha seat in the state by-election. Also, in the by-elections held on three assembly seats, it has won two. There was also a discussion about Chauhan’s name that he can be removed. BJP has changed chief ministers in Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Karnataka. But now Shivraj has answered all the questions.
Kamal Nath-led Madhya Pradesh Congress has won one assembly seat. The difference between the vote share of the two parties is just two per cent. The 2023 assembly elections may once again be a high-voltage election in Madhya Pradesh. There can be a tough competition between Chauhan and Nath.
In states like Rajasthan and Assam, Ashok Gehlot and Himanta Biswa Sarma have proved that they were selected right. The BJP and its allies have won all five seats in Assam. In Rajasthan, Congress won both the seats. Due to infighting within the BJP in Rajasthan, the party’s vote share was only 19 percent.
Mamta Banerjee, who has been continuously weakening the BJP in West Bengal, has also won the by-election. TMC has won a landslide victory in the by-elections in all the four assembly seats. The vote share of BJP in the by-elections on these seats has been only 14.5 percent. There the vote share of Trinamool Congress has been 75 per cent.
