The Congress has chosen its leaders for the Chief Ministerial posts for the three states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. They won these three states in the Vidhan Sabha Elections held in mid-November.
Madhya Pradesh
Nine-time Member of Parliament from Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, 72-year oldKamal Nath has been declared as Congress’s pick for the Chief Ministerial position in an election that almost declared a hung-verdict. Kamal Nath will replace BJP Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
The formal announcement was made late in the evening at a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party of newly elected MLAs, with the 47-year old Jyotiraditya Scindia, the other candidate who could have filled this role, supporting the veteran Kamal Nath. Congress President Mr Rahul Gandhitweeted “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. – Leo Tolstoy,”, hinting that perhaps Scindia would have to wait for his treasured post. He posted a picture of him flanked on both sides by these two leaders.
Rajasthan
Repeating the pattern, the Congress has elected the 67-year old Ashok Gehlot to be the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, while 41-year old Sachin Pilot was chosen to be the deputy chief minister. Ashok Gehlot has served as Rajasthan’s chief minister twice before. Ashok Gehlot will replace BJP’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan, after the latter’s third term as Chief Minister of the state.
Sachin Pilot said that “Me and Gehlot ji have worked our magic on people of Rajasthan. We will meet the governor today and will decide on the details of the oath-taking ceremony.” Mr Rahul Gandhi has tweeted a photo of him flanked on both sides by Gehlot and Pilot, saying “United Colours of Rajasthan”.
Chhattisgarh
The frontrunners of this race were Ambikapur MLA Anurag Singh Deo, popularly known asTS Baba from the erstwhile royal family of Sarguja, and PCC president Bhupesh Baghel, elected from Patan and an OBC leader.
The winner of the Chief Ministerial post is 57-year old Bhupesh Baghel. He belongs to the Kurmi community. This is the first Congress win in the state in 15 years. He will replace Ajit Jogi from the Chhattisgarh Janata Congress.
Startling Victory for the Congress
The official results for Madhya Pradesh declared a Congress win of 114 seats, or 49.6%, with BJP trailing steps behind with 109 seats, or 47.4%. This trend is also somewhat seen in Rajasthan, with Congress winning 99 seats, or 49.5%; but here, the BJP could secure only 73 seats, or 36.5%, as other parties took away 21 seats, or 10.5% of the votes. In Chhattisgarh the Congress victory was more pronounced with 68 seats, or 75.6%, versus a paltry 15 seats, or 16.7%, for the BJP. Mizoram elected the Mizoram National Front to power, and Telangana the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, or TRS.
Mizoram & Telangana
The Mizoram National Front, which has come back to power after 10 years, elected Zoramthanga as Chief Minister. The outgoing chief minister is Lal Thanhawla, who hails from the Congress.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi, or TRS, has re-elected Kalvakuntle Chandrasekhar Rao, or KRS, as its chief minister. This will be his second term. Along with KCR, Mahmood Ali was also sworn in as minister-designate.
