No chief minister in the Hin-di heartland has had four consecutive terms in office. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had to resign in 2018, after his third term, though he returned to power in 2020. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh, too, was ousted after three terms, as was Sheila Dikshit in Delhi. States like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan have mostly voted against incumbent governments.
Among current chief ministers, Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik is the only one who is in his fourth consecutive term. Other chief ministers who were in office for four consecutive terms are former Sikkim chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling—the longest-serving chief minister in India (24 years and 5 months)—followed by Jyoti Basu (23 years) in West Bengal and Manik Sarkar (20 years) in Tripura.
Nitish Kumar is already Bihar’s longest-serving chief minister. But the 69-year-old’s appeal seems to be diminishing. Can he become the first chief minister in the Hindi heartland to win a fourth consecutive term? “These are plebiscitary elections for Nitish Kumar,” said Saibal Gupta, veteran political analyst and founder-secretary of Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI), Patna. “These elections are witnessing a new trend—the entry of young players.”
Kumar had been in a sulk after the Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan separated from the National Democratic Alliance to launch a scathing attack on him. It was only after the first phase of the elections on October 28 that Kumar started giving interviews, at the insistence of members of his party, the Janata Dal (United), and BJP leaders. The NDA leaders, too, stepped up their attack on the opposition grand alliance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s jibes like “yuvraj of jungle raj”, “double yuvraj” at Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav sharpened the BJP’s messaging against the grand alliance, at a time when Tejashwi was attracting crowds.
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
The Deccan charger
Mohammed Siraj scripts a fairy-tale in Australia, but cementing his place in the Test squad will still be a challenge
SAVE, WITH THE SMART MOVES
There are multiple investment avenues for you to save tax
TORTURED GENIUS
The Discovery Plus documentary What Killed Maradona? investigates the issues in the legend’s life without simplistic labelling
SEE-SAW SERIES
A series that was decided in the last hour of the last day of the last match. A few key on-field moments that swung momentum to both the sides
PIT LOOMS TO PRÊT
How Uttar Pradesh is leading the revival of khadi fabric in the country
Persistence pays
Shardul Thakur’s emergence as a well-rounded cricketer is a result of his long, hard domestic grind
Lows of expansion
Cabinet rejig triggers revolt in Karnataka BJP, with rebels accusing Chief Minister Yediyurappa of corruption and sleaze
Is he ‘a keeper'?
Rishabh Pant’s exploits with the bat are accompanied by subpar glove-work, and this puts the team management in a dilemma
GOBSMACKED AT THE GABBA
The injury-ridden Indians stormed Fortress Gabba, beat Australia in one of the greatest Test series wins ever and proved that the country’s bench strength was no accident
Big brotherhood
It is not just Big Tech which is coveting your data; there are larger powers at play
AMAZON SEES BROAD AUDIENCE FOR ITS PALM RECOGNITION TECH
Amazon has introduced new palm recognition technology in a pair of Seattle stores and sees a broader potential audience in stadiums, offices and other gated or secured locations.
EXILE IN THE AGE OF MODI
How Hindu nationalism has trampled the founding idea of my country
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
A sensational freshman season fosters expectations that Kumar Rocker is ready to meet
Modi's Economic Mess
Growth is stagnating, and the people are protesting. What happened?
India Election Body Struggles With Scale Of Fake Information
When India’s Election Commission announced last month that its code of conduct would have to be followed by social media companies as well as political parties, some analysts scoffed, saying it lacked the capacity and speed required to check the spread of fake news ahead of a multi-phase general election that begins April 11.
India At A Crossroads
India is known as the land of contradictions, and recent events do little to undermine that reputation.
Narendra Modi's Enormous Ambitions
"Obsession with self and image, combined with staggering ambition, defines Modi, a veteran politician says. After 25 years, it's really all he knows about the man."
Bangladesh Has A Lot To Prove
With her nation newly behind her, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is looking abroad for new opportunities.
भारत के लोगों को भाजपा नेतृत्व पर पूरा भरोसा
भाजपा के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष श्री जगत प्रकाश नड्डा और राष्ट्रीय महामंत्री (संगठन) श्री बीएल संतोष ने 3 जनवरी 2021 को गुजरात का दौरा किया और पार्टी नेताओं के साथ बैठकें कीं। दोनों ने गांधीनगर में एक बैठक में भाग लिया, जिसमें गुजरात प्रदेश भाजपा अध्यक्ष श्री सीआर पाटिल, मुख्यमंत्री श्री विजय रूपानी और उपमुख्यमंत्री श्री नितिन पटेल शामिल थे।
पश्चिम बंगाल की तानाशाही सरकार को जनता देगी मुंहतोड़ जवाबः जगत प्रकाश नड्डा
भारतीय जनता पार्टी के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष श्रीजगत प्रकाश नड्डा ने 9 जनवरी 2021 को पश्चिम बंगाल के बर्धमान जिले में जगदानंदपुर (कटवा) के ग्राम मैदान में कृषक सुरक्षा ग्राम सभा को संबोधित कर राज्य भर में भाजपा द्वारा विधानसभा चुनाव से पहले आयोजित किये जाने वाले 40,000 सभाओं की शुरुआत की। इस कार्यक्रम के पश्चात् उन्होंने जगदानंदपुर गांव में घर-घर जाकर एक मुट्ठी चावल संग्रह' अभियान का शुभारंभ किया।2021 विधानसभा चुनाव से पहले भारतीय जनता पार्टी राज्य के सभी 73 लाख किसानों के घर-घर पहुंचेगी और उनसे एक मुट्टी चावला का संग्रह करेगी। श्री नड्डा ने इस अभियान का शुभारंभ करने के पश्चात् जगदानंदपुर गांव में ही एक किसान परिवार के घर दोपहर का भोजन किया। इससे पहले बर्धमान के काजी नजरुल इस्लाम एयरपोर्ट पर उतरने पर पार्टी कार्यकर्ताओं द्वारा श्रीनड्डा का भव्य स्वागत किया गया। उन्होंने सबसे पहले कटवा के पास प्रसिद्ध श्री राधा गोबिंद मंदिर में पूजा-अर्चना की और पश्चिम बंगाल सहित पूरे भारतवर्ष की मंगलकामना का आशीर्वाद प्राप्त किया।