After its recent victories over the BJP in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the Congress suddenly has three new chief ministers, who will take the oath of office in Jaipur, Bhopal and Raipur on Monday. This development is not against the run of play but is still somewhat unexpected.
Since the BJP has either won Assembly elections after it took power at the Centre following its extraordinary performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, or has managed to form governments anyway, by hook or by crook, even after losing an Assembly election, as in Goa, a kind of resigned inevitability had enveloped the political atmosphere in the country of a BJP victory being difficult to resist. The three Congress wins have broken this mould and offer the country a new impetus.
Kamal Nath will be the chief minister in Madhya Pradesh, Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan and Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh. All the three announcements were on expected lines, although in the case of Rajasthan and MP respectively, there was considerable inner-party discussion helmed by Congress president Rahul Gandhi on whether the party should try out fresh blood by inducting Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia, both of whom had played a significant role in their party’s victory.
In Chhattisgarh, where the Congress emerged with a two-thirds majority in the Assembly, the announcement of the CM’s name took the longest time of the three states, and was cleared only on Sunday, five days after the results were out. This is because the other three names under consideration were also of sufficient importance. Mr Baghel won out finally. As the state PCC chief, he has managed to limit the damage caused by the desertion of former party leader Ajit Jogi and carve out a memorable victory for his party.
In the choice of CMs, the Congress has kept in mind the next Lok Sabha election due by April-May next year. The selections made, from a clutch of worthy candidates, is suggestive of the fact that the party has set store by the political acumen and organisational skills of the new state leaders, and expects them to deliver results. Mr Kamal Nath and Mr Gehlot also bring with them considerable governmental experience.
These three victories in the Hindi heartland, where the Congress bested the BJP in head-to-head contests, would hardly have been possible if the party hadn’t shed its deeply fractious past and fought the election as one. That’s the obvious lesson to go forward with. The old guard versus young gun debate, sought to be ignited in sections of the media, is a red herring and has the potential to sow disunity in the party that won the election against heavy odds. There are many ways to reward young talent other than making them chief ministers.
