On Tuesday, a major political development took place in Haryana ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. ML Khattar resigned as the Chief Minister. In his place, the BJP High Command has anointed Nayab Singh Saini as the new CM. The new CM is from the OBC community.
Under the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo, CMs of multiple States have been changed in the past ten years, especially in the past five years. What is the track record in terms of electoral performance after incumbents were replaced with new candidates? Political analyst Amitabh Tiwari gives a snapshot:
1. Gujarat CM changed - BJP won
2. Tripura CM changed - BJP won
3. Uttarakhand CM changed twice - BJP won
4. Madhya Pradesh CM unchanged - BJP won
5. Jharkhand CM unchanged - BJP lost
6. Karnataka CM changed - BJP lost
7. Himachal Pradesh CM unchanged - BJP lost
8. Uttar Pradesh CM unchanged - BJP won
Of these, the most glaring example of the BJP losing after changing the CM candidate is Karnataka. BS Yeddyurappa was replaced by Basaravaraj Bommai, an unpopular leader. The Congress party successfully dislodged the BJP in the 2023 Assembly elections.
