New Delhi: The much-awaited Sunday verdict in five states will in all likelihood set the tone for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
If the verdict turns out to favour the BJP decisively, the saffron party could claim positive referendum for its mascot and prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. But if the Congress were to win even two of the states, the party could launch a spirited attack on Modi.
Out of the five states, Rajasthan, Delhi and Mizoram are from the Congress’ kitty. In MP and Chhattisgarh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh respectively are eying record third terms. The Congress has been in power in Delhi since 1998 and Sheila Dikshit is the longest serving (15 years) woman chief minister.
Sunday’s verdict will come on the back of record pollings in all the five states and spirited campaign by all the stakeholders. Modi emerged as the principal campaigner for the BJP in all the states barring Mizoram.
For the Congress, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi led the campaign from the front and largely focused in Chhattisgarh, MP and Rajasthan.
The BJP had to field Modi to address quite a large number of rallies to beat the anti-incumbency factor against the Raman Singh government. Gandhi too sensing an opportunity in the state camped there.
The Congress hopes to benefit from the sympathy factor after top leadership of the party, which included Nand Kumar Patel, V.C. Shukla, was massacred by the Maoists.
In contrast to straight fights in other states, Delhi saw the maiden entry into the political arena by RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal through Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). With Delhi having been home to the Anna Hazare agitation, Kejriwal hopes to cash in on youth voters for favourable results.
In MP, Gandhi, by propping young Jyotiraditya Scindia as CM candidate, has sought to rediscover the base in the state. In Rajasthan, the BJP’s Vasundhara Raje is seeking to wrest the state from the Congress’ Ashok Gehlot.
In Mizoram, the Congress is being challenged by an alliance of local parties.
