STATE CAPTAINS TO DILLI DURBAR

For some, it's a second coming, for others, it came as a reward for persistence and longevity. They have led the state, now they will be looking to make a mark at the Centre

- Anilesh S. Mahajan, Amitabh Srivastava, Dhaval S. Kulkarni, Ajay Sukumaran

EX-CHIEF MINISTERS

BASAVARAJ BOMMAI, 64

|BJP Haveri, Karnataka

His father S.R. Bommai's name has become a keyword in Centre-State relations since the eponymous-and landmark-Supreme Court judgment of 1994. Thirty years later, India's federal architecture is still shaken by the periodic tremor, even if not via President's Rule. But the son will now observe the landscape from the other side as he travels from state to Centre. Basavaraj had a stormy passage as Karnataka CM but proved to be a nightwatchman who stuck around and scored a bit. Also, as a needy migrant from socialism to the Hindu right wing, more loyal than the pope.

TRIVENDRA SINGH RAWAT, 63

|BJP | Haridwar, Uttarakhand

It's a rebirth of sorts. In his four years as CM, the pracharak from Pauri came across as a strict administrator who didn't mind losing friends. But he proved too good at that, alienating even the teerth purohits with his Char Dham Devasthanam Board taking over the prestigious holy sites.

The RSS, too, went cold on him, as dissent grew. And admirers were hard to come by in the grim aftermath of the Chamoli flash floods of February 2021. Unseated that March, he didn't even figure as a candidate in the 2022 assembly polls. But then lady luck smiled on him with a call-up for the Haridwar seat.

CHARANJIT SINGH CHANNI, 61 CONGRESS Jalandhar (SC), Punjab

He came as a surprise choice when the Congress thought it fit to dethrone Amarinder Singh in 2021-and was much feted as Punjab's first Dalit CM, one who replaced erstwhile royalty at that. Later, lamented as one who perhaps didn't get much time to turn things around, before the AAP storm hit in the 2022 assembly poll.