On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack on the World Trade Centre in which thousands of Americans died, the American people were in grief. On the same day, the Taliban were in a celebratory mood in Kabul having ‘defeated’ the Americans in a bloody war that lasted two decades. What stood out was the fanaticism and barbarity of a jihadi group that promises to take the country back to medieval times.

In an unexpected turn of events on Sept 03, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced to media that he intended to step down as Prime Minister and would withdraw his candidacy from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential elections due September end. Suga noted that a huge amount of energy was needed when considering COVID measures and the election campaign and it was difficult to manage both1. Concurrently, the term of current Lower House also expires on Oct 21 mandating that elections be held by Oct 17 to late November.