After Verdict 2016, political parties are gearing up for the next round of polls but the new Chief Ministers must focus on good governance
The excitement following the five State Assembly polls results is slowly dying down after the newly elected Chief Ministers have taken oath. While Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president J Jayalalithaa have retained their fiefdom, the other three leaders have become Chief Ministers for the first time.
While it will be an acid test for Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has to keep the left flag flying. On the other hand, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy has brought cheers for the Congress which is almost in ICU.
However, all the Chief Ministers have to deliver on extravagant promises. They have to find the resources because voters want immediate results. There will be challenges for leaders like Banerjee and Jayalalithaa who nurse national ambitions.
For Banerjee, the big win might have been exciting, but along with that comes expectations. The biggest challenge for Didi is to tackle the debt burden of the State. The total debt of the State has gone up to Rs3.34 lakh crore from two lakh crore rupees in March 2011 ever since Banerjee took charge as the Chief Minister. Obviously, debt obligations will come in way of delivering promises. Where will she find the money for the freebies she has promisedIJ Second, Banerjee has to attract investments from national and international investors. West Bengal held the global investors meet last year, but follow up needs to be done.
Politically, Banerjee has to ensure that the left and the Congress do not pick up at least until the 2019 lok Sabha poll. Also, she has to see to it that there is no alternative to TMC rule in West Bengal. She has to take action against those Ministers and party men whose names have been dragged into scams like the Saradha scam.
Jayalalithaa too faces the problem of delivering tall promises she made during her campaign. In the first file that she signed, she ordered waivering of crop loans upto March 31, payable to co-operative banks. This will incur a Rs5,780 crore burden on her Government. Jayalalithaa’s second order was to provide 100 units of free power for all households in the State. This will entail an additional payout of Rs1,607 crore as grant to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation. She also ordered closure of 500 State-run retail liquor outlets and cut short working hours of bars.
Politically, she may not have a smooth sailing in Assembly where the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is poised to function as a belligerent Opposition. The DMK will give her a tough time in the legislature as well as outside. Moreover, her disproportionate assets case is still pending with the Supreme Court.
Vijayan has to maintain a fine balance between various factions. His succession was smooth even though there were murmurs from the rival Achuthanandan faction. Vijayan’s first task is to ensure law and order, particularly after the recent killing of two BJP workers in the State.
The new Government may face cash constraints because of three expenditure heads viz, salaries, pensions and interest payments, which amounts to over two-third of the State’s total budgeted revenue of Rs84, 000 crore for this fiscal. Vijayan will also have to re-look over 800 decisions of the previous Government and the controversial liquor policy. The biggest challenge, however, will be to erase his alleged past in the SNC lavalin scam from when he was the State’s Power Minister in 1997.
In Assam, Sonowal has to maintain the momentum till the 2019 lok Sabha polls. In 2014, the BJP got seven out of 14 seats and this time, with the party in power, it has to move up. Second, he will contain fringe elements as he had maintained that the BJP was secular in Assam. The third serious challenge is illegal immigration from Bangladesh. Maintaining law and order, keeping the allies happy and finding money for development works are the other challenges.
Narayanasamy is an old warhorse and an experienced Congressman, but this is the first time he has become the Chief Minster. Winning Puducherry is a silver lining for the Congress which is demoralised. Though it is a small Union Territory, it is politically important. His installation as the Chief Minister has begun with dissent within the local unit. He should try and take every faction along.