The audacious victory pulled off by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh will embolden Prime Minister Narendra Modi and revive his proclivity for risk taking.
Not only has Modi reinforced his popularity in the state (he was clearly its star campaigner), he has won an election widely seen as referendum on the ban on high value currencies introduced on 8 November.
Clearly, this may mean that the remaining two years of the current government will see bolder initiatives. Here are four brave moves Modi could make.
1.Labour reform
Modi may choose to amend contract labour laws and factories law, allowing freer mobility of labour and incentivising greater participation of women in the work force.
2.Anti-corruption
Modi is likely to relaunch his campaign against illegal wealth. After demonetisation of high value currencies, the next focus may be on the implementation of the newly minted Benami Law.
3.Governance
The government is likely to push for acceleration of governance reforms, particularly in the use of Aadhaar, the unique identity number, for use in various programmes to prevent leakages and create an audit trail
4.Land acquisition
The win could also make Modi consider revisiting the fractious issue of land acquisition. That may well mean staking his personal and political capital, but he did so once on 8 November, and is today reaping the benefits.
