Touted as semi-finals ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the verdict in the Assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana has come as a mixed bag. The incumbent governments were voted out in all but Madhya Pradesh where the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has bucked the anti-incumbency trend and romped home with a landslide victory. In Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the ‘double engine sarkar’ slogan of the BJP appears to have clicked and led to the saffron party wresting the two States from Congress. In Telangana, the people have voted for change. Congress won impressively defeating BRS.
The resounding victories in the three heartland States come as a major boost for the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The grand old party’s fears of infighting scuttling its prospects have come true in Rajasthan where the Ashok Gehlot’s government has been voted out. Despite the party’s attempts to show a united front, the power tussle between Gehlot and Sachin Pilot – the long-standing rivals – has turned out to be its undoing. The Congress’ poor showing in this round of Assembly polls in the northern States is expected to dent its position in the I.N.D.I.A alliance, a joint political formation to take on the NDA. It is clear that the Congress’ pitch for caste census did not resonate with the voters in the Hindi heartland, as the OBC strongholds have gone into the BJP’s kitty. The Congress will have to work really hard to catch up with the strong BJP. Going by the present it is advantage BJP for 2024.