A TEST OF TWO CMs

The assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have also turned the spotlight on the poll minders of the Congress for the two states—Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel. Baghel had been assigned election duty in Assam and Uttar Pradesh too, but could not help bolster the party’s tally. Gehlot, by contrast, helped the Gujarat Congress see its best-ever performance in decades in 2017 in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, giving the BJP a real scare. Results day—December 8—could now determine the stature of both CMs, especially with party rebels snapping at their heels in their respective home states.