The new GST test

Non-BJP states now have enough muscle to block resolutions

The recently concluded elections in five states will likely show their first impact on policymaking when the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meets on December 22. The Council will see the entry of three new faces — all from the Congress. From the perspective of decision making in the GST Council, it is possible now to conceive of a situation where the non-BJP ruled states block a GST resolution that the BJP-ruled Centre and states hope to pass. This then is both a test as well as an opportunity for the BJP-ruled central government both in terms of managing