Modi tsunami threatens existence of 7 more CMs

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 CMs of Congress- ruled Maharashtra, Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The Damocles’ sword also hangs over SP leader and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Sources in the BJP though claimed that the party lead- ership 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 chief minister 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

In many of these states, where ruling parties failed miserably in the elections, internal pressure is being mounted on the sitting CMs to take moral responsibility for the defeat of respective parties

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 CongressNCP 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. The BJP bagged all nine seats. In Uttarakhand, the situation is more vulnerable, particularly since former Congress stalwart Satpal Maharaj quit the party and joined the BJP. Talks are there in the air that Satpal has the loyalty of about a dozen Congress MLAs, thus putting Harish Rawat’s government in the state, which has been in office with a wafer- thin majority, on a sticky wicket. In Uttar Pradesh, for chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, the results of the Lok Sabha appear to have proved shocking, as except for his own family members, including his father, brothers and wife, the rest of party nominees have lost.