Congress gets majority in Delhi
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Nov 28 — After a long gap it is carnival time for the Congress. A rejuvenated party led by Mrs Sonia Gandhi wrested Rajasthan and Delhi from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while retaining Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress, sailing on the anti-incumbency, has secured a two-third majority in Rajasthan and is expected to do the same in Delhi, which has always been considered as a BJP stronghold. The BJP loss in Delhi could also decide the fortunes of the party eventually at the Centre.

According to the latest available trends in 69 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly, the Congress was leading in 50. The BJP, which had strength of 49 in the outgoing Assembly, was leading in only 16 seats, with Independents leading in two and the Janata Dal leading in one.

The results of 49 seats have been announced for the Assembly poll. The Congress has won in 36, been the BJP 12 and Janata Dal one.

The results of 49 seats have been announced for the Assembly poll. The Congress has won in 36, the BJP 12 and Janata Dal one.

The Congress was also set to defy the exit poll results in Madhya Pradesh where on its own it would get a simple majority and with the help of allies like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would be in a very comfortable position. It was, however, trailing behind the Mizo National Front (MNF) and Mizo People’s Conference (MPC) in Mizoram.

The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, acknowledged that the results were contrary to the expectations of the BJP. He was, however, quick to add that the results were not a referendum on the government’s performance at the Centre. He said the party was doubtful about its performance in Delhi but had hoped that the anti-incumbency factor in Madhya Pradesh would work in its favour.

The Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, said the total failure of the BJP to govern had resulted in the party’s impending rout in the assembly elections. She said the victory was not only for the party and its candidates but also to its grassroots workers.

A beaming Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief, who has won from Gole Market constituency, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, said that the newly elected legislators would choose their leader after all the results were declared.

"Certainly not. The MLAs will decide", she said when asked if she could be described as the next CM of Delhi.

Mrs Dikshit said the swing in favour of the Congress could be attributed to the leadership of Mrs Sonia Gandhi". "The Congress has emerged as a fresh and determined party", she said. "I am really delighted over the election results and the voters of Delhi have voted positively for the Congress".

Mrs Dikshit said that the Congress would try to provide a good administration to the people and make every effort to control the spiralling prices, especially those of essential commodities.

"I would try to live up to the expectations of the people", she said.

Chief ministerial candidate of the BJP Sushma Swaraj, conceding defeat of the party, said the "BJP has defeated itself and neither the electorate nor the Congress are responsible for the party’s debacle". She said there was need for introspection as indiscipline had crept into the party.

The prominent winners include the DPCC chief, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, who defeated sitting BJP MLA and former international cricketer Kirti Azad by a margin of over 5,000 votes in the Gole Market constituency, former Delhi Health Minister Harshvardhan, who has won from Krishna Nagar, and newscaster and Congress candidate Anjali Rai, who defeated her BJP rival Mr Nirmal Khandelwal for the Paharganj seat.

Mrs Sushma Swaraj was leading by a slender margin of less than 500 votes against her closest rival and Congress nominee Kiran Walia in the Hauz Khas Assembly constituency.

Prominent candidates leading are former Delhi Finance Minister Prof Jagdish Mukhi (Janakpuri), sitting MLA Surendra Pal Ratawal (Karol Bagh) of the BJP and Mr Ajay Maken (Rajouri Garden) and Mrs Anjali Rai (Paharganj) of the Congress.

Trends in favour of the Congress notwithstanding, Mrs Swaraj maintained that it was a neck and neck fight in Delhi. "A loss by 500 or 1000 votes does not mean that the BJP has lost favour with the electorate".

The factors that seemed to have swung the electorate in favour of the Congress are rise in prices of essential commodities and better governance .

The mood in the Congress headquarters was upbeat. The beating of drums, firecrackers, sloganeering and cheering by supporters of the winning candidates heralded the arrival of fresh election trends is favour of the party.

The candidates who won at the hustings along with their supporters proceeded to meet the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi.

Mr Kirti Azad who lost to Mrs Sheila Dikshit admitted that the voters may have been disillusioned with the BJP. "Had the onion crisis been tackled the way Mrs Sushma Swaraj tackled the salt crisis, the result would have been different," he said.

Former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma said during his term as Chief Minister, he was confident of winning in Delhi by at least 50 seats.

"The turn of events before the poll led to lack of enthusiasm among the BJP voters. An informal survey conducted said while 79 per cent of the Congress voters were ready cast their ballot, only 59 per cent of the BJP voters were willing to do so," he said.

Regarding the Union Cabinet berth promised to him by the PM, Mr Verma said: "I was assured by the PM of a berth and I had written to him that I will take charge after the election process was over".

Delhi Finance Minister Prof Jagdish Mukhi said the anti-incumbency factor and the issue of price rise played a role in swinging the vote against the BJP. Prof Mukhi, a known Khurana loyalist, said: "Party infighting has also played a role" in the poor performance of the BJP. On the issue of price rise of essential commodities, Prof Mukhi said: "Vegetable prices cannot be controlled by the Finance Ministry but by the weather".

Outer Delhi MP, K.L. Sharma said: "The rise in prices is definitely an issue during these elections. I am pained by the fact that the voter is only influenced by current issues and not other major factors," he said.

Mrs Kiran Chaudhary who defeated sitting MLA Karan Singh Tanwar in Delhi Cantonment by over 2000 votes, said the anti-incumbency factor was not the actual reason for the defeat of the BJP. "The real reason is mis-governance in Delhi. It is also the voters’ faith in Mrs Sonia Gandhi as the Congress has witnessed an upswing after she took over. I will work for the nation , the downtrodden and the party", she said.

Digvijay retains power in MP

BHOPAL, Nov 28 (PTI) — The ruling Congress was in a commanding position in Madhya Pradesh, maintaining its winning spree by bagging 85 of the 135 seats declared so far and leading in about a hundred other seats, trends for which were available.

The BJP, the main Opposition in the state, had to rest content with only 42 seats, while the remaining seat went in favour of a rebel Congress candidate who contested as an Independent.

Of the 31 seats decided earlier, the Congress had retained 15 and wrested nine from the BJP and one from the regional party Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (CMM).

The Congress, however, yielded four seats to the BJP which has so far managed to retain only one.

Chief Minister Digvijay Singh trounced his BJP rival Chanchal Jain in Raghogarh constituency by a massive margin of over 54,000 votes.

Congress state unit Chief Urmila Singh also won from Ghansoey by a handsome margin of 18,000 votes.

Another remarkable winner was BJP’s Anup Mishra, nephew of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who humbled state minister Bhagwan Singh Yadav in Lashkar (West) constituency.

Prominent leading candidates were former Chief Ministers Sunderlal Patwa (BJP) in Bhojpur, Shyama Charan Shukla (Cong) in Rajim, state BJP chief Nand Kumar Sai in Tapkara and Deputy Chief Minister Subhash Yadav in Kasrawad.

Those trailing include former Chief Ministers Kailash Joshi (BJP) in Bagli and V K Saklecha (Ind and BJP rebel) in Jawad.

Shekhawat quits after BJP rout

JAIPUR, Nov 28 (PTI) — Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat resigned tonight following the defeat of his ruling BJP in the state assembly elections.

Mr Shekhawat sent in his resignation to acting Governor Justice NL Tiberwal as the poll results and trends showed a massive Congress surge.

The Chief Minister earlier in the day owned responsibility for BJP’s defeat but attributed the reverses to price rise and caste factor.

The Congress appeared headed for a landslide victory in Rajasthan winning 41 of the 51 seats and establishing a lead in 83 constituencies.

The ruling BJP, in power in the state for eight years barring a brief spell of President’s rule in 1992, was receiving a severe drubbing in almost all parts with several ministers, including Home Minister Kailash Meghwal, losing and a number of others trailing.

The BJP has so far been able to bag only 10 seats.

The Congress was making inroads into the ruling party’s traditional strongholds in Kota, Udaipur and Jaipur regions.

Of the three seats in the Pink City, known as a BJP stronghold, two went to the Congress, leaving only one for the state's ruling party. Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat won in Bali and his deputy in the Council of Ministers Hari Shanker Bhabra is forging ahead in Ratangarh. But many of their colleagues, including Home Minister Kailash Meghawal lost. Mr Ramzan Khan of the BJP, however, sprang a surprise when he defeated sitting Congress member and former Lok Sabha member Vishnu Modi in Pushkar.

Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing assembly Paras Ram Domerna won his traditional seat in Bhopalgarh in Jodhpur district by a whopping margin of more than 23,000 votes. Congress stalwart former Union Minister and now a débutante in the state legislature Nawal Kishore Sharma was maintaining a comfortable lead over BJP minister and a longtime legislator Ujal Arora from the Jaipur (Rural) constituency.

Among the Congress leaders who have made it to the assembly are Mr Mahesh Joshi (Kishenpole), Mr Kishan Motwani (Ajmer West), Mr Lalit Mbhati (Ajmer-East), Mr Nathu Ram (Kishangarh) and Mr Govind Singh (Narisabad). Former Chief Minister Shiv Charan Mathur of the Congress maintaining a steady lead won in Mandalgrah.

Besides Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (Bali), Mr V.P. Singh (Aasind) is the second member of the outgoing ministry who has managed to enter the eleventh state assembly, which will be constituted early next month. Three other members from the BJP who have been declared elected are Mr Bhanwar Lal (Hawamahal) Mr Ramzan Khan (Pushkar) and Mr Sanwar Lal (Bhinai).

Results of the constituencies where electronic machines were used were available well before noon. The Congress wrested three seats, retained one and the BJP could retain only one seat, Hawamahal.

While Mahesh Joshi and Mr Takkiuddin Ahmed of the Congress wrested the Hawamahal and Johuri Bazar constituencies from the BJP nominees, Mr Bhanwar Lal of the BJP managed to retain his traditional seat from the Capital town.

The two results from Ajmer — East and West — where polling had been conducted with electronic machines went in favour of the Congress in line with the current wave sweeping the state. The party wrested Ajmer East and retained Ajmer West.