New Delhi : Two by-elections in Madhya Pradesh — one for the Lok Sabha from the Ratlam-Jhabua constituency and the other for vidhan sabha for the Dewas constituency — along with urban civic body elections in Gujarat have assumed a larger than life significance in deciding the ruling Bharatiya Janata party’s national mood. The parliamentary by-election, necessitated by the passing away of the senior tribal leader Dilip Singh Bhuria, would be testing the popularity of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan who has braved the allegations of corruption in the Vyapam scam and ensured electoral success for the party at all levels. But the element of uncertainty has been injected by the likely swing in public mood after the BJP’s massive defeat in the Bihar state assembly elections. The same holds true for the Dewas assembly seat.
In political terms, the Gujarat civic elections for almost 300 entities in two phases – November 22nd and 29th – have a greater import as these offer the first test of popularity in a post-Modi Gujarat, coupled with the rising discontent among the Patidars who have been the bedrock of the party’s support base in the state. They have vowed to defeat the BJP as their demands on the issue of reservations have not been met. Chief minister Anandi-behn Patel, hand-picked by prime minister Narendra Modi as his successor in the state, has been facing the ire of the Paitdars during her campaign for the civic elections, and her fate could be linked to the
outcome of these polls. Any setback would trigger demands for a change in leadership, and the ramifications of any change would not remain limited to the state. In both Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, the Congress has been on the losing side for more than a decade. However, any good news through these by-polls and civic elections could serve as a much strong morale booster than the mere numbers involved.
