India, Nov. 1 -- The next Knesset will be keenly watched. Whichever political combination forms it will have to navigate a changing demographic balance, multiple military fronts, economic cost of current conflicts and contested transnational relationships.

Israel has voted in its first elections post the Hamasled, ghastly October 7 attack in 2023 and its aftermath. There is no clear winner, leaving it with the coalition arithmetic, which has defined its politics for decades. Securing 61 seats in the Knesset, needed to form a government is sine qua non. Coalition politics has been a rule rather than an exception in Israel.

Interestingly, Knesset is derived from the ancient Knesset HaGdola or the Great Assembly, which, according to tradit...