As we climb down from the adrenaline rush that comes with verdict day, a gentle reminder: it is not over yet. The votes for Mizoram’s 40 seats will be counted on Monday. The state is one of the few in the Northeast where the BJP is not a major player yet even though the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) is a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre. The MNF will be hoping for a repeat of 2018, when it won 26 seats of the state's 40 seats to snatch power from the Congress. But its biggest challenge will not be from a depleted Congress — which will be smarting from the drubbing it received at the BJP’s hands in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh — but the much-younger Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) that emerged five years ago. Yes, Chief Minister The attention in the four states where results were declared on Sunday will now shift to who gets the top jobs in the states and who gets ministerial positions and in the days to come we will have more clarity about who wins the race for the CM’s post in the four states. Telangana: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar who has been deployed to the state as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) observer has said state Congress leadership will meet on Monday to discuss the way forward. A Congress delegation met Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Sunday night to stake claim to form the government. State Congress chief A Revanth Reddy is likely to be among the contenders for the top job but it remains to be seen if others throw their hats into the ring. In the past, leaders such as Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy and Dr Dasoju Sravan have quit over differences with him and there has been criticism of his “autocratic” style of functioning. A former TDP leader, he has also been targeted for being an “outsider” in the party. Chhattisgarh: Former Chief Minister Raman Singh, Union Minister Renuka Singh, and state BJP chief Arun Sao are among eight leaders who could be contenders for the top job. Rajasthan: While Vasundhara Raje seems like the likeliest choice for CM’s post in Rajasthan, given her popularity, it may not be such a straightforward decision. As Liz Mathew explained in this insightful article, “The prospects of her return to the post for a third time are bleak if the party gets a clear majority in the 200-member Assembly and the central leadership has its way completely. Raje has an uneasy relationship with the high command, which denied her supporters’ demand to project her as the CM face, and a clear win will mean it won’t be under any obligation to humour her.” Madhya Pradesh: Though he was sidelined during the campaign as the BJP believed it would protect the party from the anti-incumbency factor, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was everywhere, addressing eight to 10 rallies a day over 16 hours at times. This puts the party in a quandary. Shivraj’s high victory margin (almost 1.05 lakh votes) and the popularity of his government’s welfare schemes means he could still possibly get a fifth term. But the fact that the party shielded him during the campaign and almost all the Union Ministers it fielded won could mean that the central leadership may just decide to turn the page on him and start afresh keeping the next five years in mind. Parliament Winter Session begins With the Winter Session set to begin on Monday, the leaders of various Opposition parties of the INDIA bloc are likely to meet in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to chalk out their strategy. The dynamics in the INDIA alliance will be keenly tracked given most of the Congress’s allies in the Opposition bloc are unhappy about the party keeping the alliance on hold till the Assembly elections were over and because the Congress did not accommodate INDIA constituents like the Samajwadi Party in Madhya Pradesh. Several of the INDIA parties are said to be unwilling to attend a meeting Kharge has called on December 6. But with the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee set to table its report recommending the expulsion of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra in connection with the cash-for-query allegations, the Opposition is expected to put up a united front to oppose the report. The government has lined up for passage several Bills such as the three that will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act on which the Opposition parties have many reservations. — With PTI inputs
