New Delhi: Assembly elections have been held in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and their results have also come. The country has welcomed a new year in which assembly elections of 9 states will be held and it will serve as a trial run for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It will also lay the foundation for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
The states where elections will be held in 2023 are Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Telangana and the northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram. The central government may also consider announcing elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which would be the first after the abrogation of Article 370 and scrapping of special status.
The electoral battle between the parties is believed to be tough as it is a battle of survival for the Congress at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is eyeing state elections. Two of the nine states that have a Congress-led government will contest elections in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
2023 election battle
The year will probably start with elections in the northeastern states. Some other states going to the polls are:
Chhattisgarh
The state will see a tough fight between the Grand Old Party and the saffron brigade, as the way the Congress fielded a three-time chief minister in the state was a jolt to the BJP. After the first election in 2003, the Congress has never won an election till 2018, Raman Singh held the post of CM for 15 years. It will be a battle of survival for the Congress and a battle of prestige for the BJP.
Rajasthan
The Congress wrested the state from the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government in 2018, becoming the single largest party and winning 100 seats in the 200-seat assembly; The majority of one has failed for the government. On the other hand, BJP won only 73 seats as compared to absolute majority of 163 seats in 2013 assembly elections.
In 2023, a direct fight is being considered between the Congress and the BJP, as both the parties will fight it for prestige.
Madhya Pradesh
In the last election, the Congress won 114 seats in the 230-member assembly and formed the government with the support of one MLA from the Samajwadi Party, two MLAs from the Bahujan Samaj Party and four independents. Kamal Nath became the Chief Minister, but due to the resignation of Jyotiraditya Scindia, 22 MLAs from the Congress party went to the BJP. This created a political crisis in 2020 and the BJP formed the state government.
Karnataka
The state witnessed another hung assembly after the 2018 elections when no political party got a majority. Former chief minister BS Yediyurappa was sworn in as chief minister, but had to resign and the Congress-JD(S) alliance formed a cabinet under HD Kumaraswamy. However, the coalition lost its majority after 14 months and Basavaraj Bommai is now the Chief Minister.
Telangana
CM KCR had won 88 out of 119 seats in the 2018 elections. The election will be a turning point for Rao if he can retain his stronghold for the third time in a row.
(with agency inputs)