The rather stunning turnaround in the fortunes of the Congress—and the concomitant attrition that the BJP suffered—in three Hindi heartland states has somewhat taken attention away from the spectacular victories of two regional parties in these Assembly elections—the TRS in Telangana and the MFN in Mizoram. And both came largely at the cost of the Grand Old Party, the BJP being at best a marginal disruptor in the two states.
Of the two, the victory posted by
K Chandrashekar Rao and his Telangana Rashtra Samiti is impressive in terms of the sweep. KCR 2.0 is an enhanced version of the first edition. Not very often does the chief minister of an Indian state beat the anti-incumbency factor to such an extent as to better his or her previous performance. That too, taking on a formidable four-party alliance, the Prajakootami, on one side and the BJP on the other. Those wishing to read the tea-leaves for 2019 cannot ignore the significance of the TRS trouncing two national parties.
The Mizo National Front’s clean sweep, ending the decade-long rule of Lal Thanhawla, who was the last Congress chief minister left in the Northeast, was no less significant. Set to take office for his second term, the ageing Zoramthanga, a reformed insurgent, can focus on basic governance, like building roads, Mizoram being considered the most peaceful state in the region. Its woes were simple.
The underlying text of the Assembly results, thus, seems to be that voters are moved by basic livelihood issues. Welfare schemes and the promise of development are what gave KCR his improved tally. And it’s the same promise that gave the Congress its most convincing victory in Chhattisgarh.
A cautionary note, therefore, to those who may tend to overread the political nature of the verdict of December 2018: it was not just a two-party poll, it was also a federal poll.