Victorious parties in the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgrah, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram got down to the task of government formation on Wednesday. The Congress, which won in the three north Indian States, held meetings of its legislature parties that authorised party president Rahul Gandhi to name his choice as Chief Minister.
The choices before Mr. Gandhi in Rajasthan is between All India Congress Committee general secretary Ashok Gehlot and State president Sachin Pilot. A delegation of Congress leaders drove to the Raj Bhavan late on Wednesday evening and staked claim before Governor Kalyan Singh to form the government. AICC general secretary in charge of Rajasthan Avinash Pande told reporters that a list of the party’s MLAs as well as others backing the Congress was given to the Governor.
Mayawati backs Congress
In Madhya Pradesh, where the results were announced only on Wednesday morning after a see-saw battle, the Congress, just a little shy of majority, got a boost when Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati announced that she, with two MLAs, would support a Congress government.
With the support of Independents in hand, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath, front-runner for the post of Chief Minister, along with Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, staked claim before Governor Anandiben Patel at the Raj Bhavan.
In Chhattisgarh, the Congress legislature party, in the presence of central observer Mallikarjun Kharge, met to deliberate on who should be the Chief Minister.
“It has been unanimously decided that the CM name will be picked by the Congress president. Mr. Gandhi had said that even if a resolution is passed unanimously, every MLA should be talked to and their opinions considered,” Mr. Kharge said, after the two-hour meeting.
The final call will be taken in New Delhi where Mr. Kharge is expected to meet Mr. Gandhi on Thursday.
KCR elected leader
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which won a landslide in Telangana, and the Mizo National Front (MNF), which triumphed in Mizoram, finalised preparations for the oath-taking ceremonies of the respective governments. K. Chandrasekhar Rao was elected the TRS legislature party leader and will be sworn in at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad on Thursday. Mr. Rao said the oath-taking ceremony would be confined to him and one other colleague, whom he did not name.
Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan invited MNF president Zoramthanga to form the government. The oath-taking ceremony will be held on Saturday.
