JERUSALEM: Soon after Naftali Bennett stepped down as Israel’s prime minister, the Knesset was dissolved on Thursday and the country is gearing up for new polls. With this, talks are rife about Israel’s former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comeback. The elections are scheduled to be held in November. Netanyahu, who served as the country’s prime minister for 12 long years, was defeated in the last elections owing to the unity of opposition parties. Now, the leader has vowed to regain power in the coming elections.

Naftali Bennett became Israel’s prime minister in last June, after defeating Netanyahu in the polls. Bennett had managed to put together an eight-party coalition, comprising of right-wing, liberal and Arab parties. However, as ideological differences and discomfort within the coalition began to unveil, Bennett lost majority. Following which, the Knesset was dissolved. The country is about witness its sixth election in the last four years.

Netanyahu once again?

A lot of people are of the opinion that Netanyahu will become the next prime minister of the country. The leader’s conservative Likud Party stands first in all the pre-poll surveys. However, the party has failed to gather minimum majority in the last few elections. They will be able to form a government only with the support of other parties. Corruption allegations are the major challenges in front of Netanyahu and his Likud party.

All the small and large parties of the countries are in preparation for the election, which will be held on November 1. Meanwhile, Netanyahu, who often emphasizes on security, has now shifted his focus towards financial matters. He is likely to take up the rise in life expenses of the citizens as a major poll issue. He has also blamed Bennett’s administration for the problems.

According to a popular Israeli channel’s survey, Netanyahu is likely to win in 58 seats out of the total 120 seats. Meantime, the party needs more seats to win an absolute majority. As per the channel’s survey on June 21, about 47 per cent of the Israeli people believe that Netanyahu will become their next prime minister. He is a leader who has kept close relations with India and especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier, Netanyahu had used Modi’s pictures for poll campaigning in Israel.