Congress chief ministers feel the heat after party's rout in LS polls
New Delhi: After claiming its first victim, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar of the JD(U), the Modi “tsunami” which hit the nation could now threaten the existence of nearly seven Chief Ministers. These include Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled Maharashtra, Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The Damocles’ sword also hangs over UP CM Akhilesh Yadav. Sources in the BJP though claimed that the party leadership is not in favour of destabilising any state government following a massive national mandate in its favour.
In many of these states, where ruling parties failed miserably in the Lok Sabha elections, internal pressure is being mounted on the sitting Chief Ministers to take moral responsibility for the defeat of respective parties. “This is the reason why Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has resigned and the same may be repeated in other states too,” said a senior BJP leader. In Assam, the defeat for the Congress was so decisive that it forced Chief Minister Tarun Gagoi to offer his resignation.
Half of the 14 parliamentary constituencies in the state were won by the BJP, leaving the Congress to settle with only three.
Similarly in Maharashtra, the Congress-NCP combine was a formidable force till the 2009 elections, winning 25 of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies.
It is now on the verge of extinction. In these elections, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine got 42 seats and two seats went to its other allies, leaving only four seats for the ruling Congress-NCP combine. This is the worst ever performance for the Congress, leading to immense pressure on Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to take moral responsibility and resign.
However, the state is scheduled to go for Assembly polls in just about next six months and there is every possibility that the saffron combine will win the state after sitting in the Opposition for 15 years in a row if the Lok Sabha trends continue. In the two Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the Congress governments find themselves in a precarious situation as the party has drawn a blank.
