Pressure to dislodge Vajpayee govt
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Nov 29 — A jubilant Congress, armed with a massive three-fourths majority in Delhi and Rajasthan and retaining its grip over Madhya Pradesh, began the exercise for the formation of governments in the three states, even as the Central leadership came under increasing pressure to take the initiative to dislodge the Bharatiya Janata Party from power at the Centre.

The Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, reacting to the sentiments of the party workers, however, said it was "too early" for the party to try and form the government at the Centre. "We will see as things develop," she remarked indicating an open option by the party.

The poll verdict set off a flurry of political activity in the Capital. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) met today to initiate the process for installing its governments in the three states where it had won elections, while the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, asked the BJP’s Parliamentary Party executive to be prepared to face the demand for resignation of the coalition government at the Centre.

The two Left parties urged the Vajpayee government to quit in deference to the people’s strong verdict against its eight-month rule.

Even as the rank and file of the Congress was charged with the battle cry of "oust the BJP from the seat of power at the Centre", Mrs Gandhi counselled patience saying that the party should not "rush into a certain situation. We have to consider the situation properly."

The Congress President said she had not been surprised by the success in Madhya Pradesh despite poor pre-and post-poll projections as she had all along been optimistic about a good showing.

The Congress wrested power, securing 150 seats of 197 seats in Rajasthan, 51 of 69 in Delhi and maintained its hold on Madhya Pradesh, defying pollsters and votaries of the anti-incumbency factor by winning 173 of the 320 seats. However, the party was pushed out of power with only six seats in the 40-member Mizoram Assembly.

With the resignation of the Mizoram Chief Minister, Mr Lalthanwala today, the stage is set for change of government in all the states. The BJP Chief Ministers, — Mr Bhairon Singh Shekhawat of Rajasthan and Ms Sushma Swaraj of Delhi — had quit yesterday after it became clear that the Congress was heading for a landslide victory.

The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Digvijay Singh, exuded confidence that he would be re-elected to the post following the Congress securing a comfortable majority in the assembly elections and said the legislature party (CLP) leader is likely to be elected on Tuesday.

After meeting the Congress President in the Capital today, he said "Mrs Gandhi was very very happy over the party’s success." However, he did not elaborate on his discussions with the party chief.

While he parried a question if there was any other contender for the post, Mr Digvijay Singh said, "I had said what I had to say."

The newly-elected Congress members in Rajasthan are to meet in Jaipur tomorrow to choose their leader.

The Congress hurricane in Rajasthan devasted the BJP and other non-Congress parties to such an extent that the saffron party was completely wiped out in 13 of the 32 districts and had as many as 28 ministers trounced even as most of the party rebels also fell by the wayside.

The results indicated that the Pokhran-II tests did not make any favourable impact for the BJP in the lone Assembly seat in Jaisalmer district where Pokhran is located. The seat was bagged by a Congress candidate by a margin of 15,000 votes.

The jubilation in the Congress camp reached a crescendo today following the party’s spectacular victory in Delhi Assembly elections bagging 51 seats in the 70-member legislature.

Fire crackers, distribution of sweets and garlanding of the winning candidates amidst joyous drum beats formed the major highlights both at the Delhi Pradesh Congress office and 10 Janpath, residence of the party President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi.

An elated DPCC president and Chief Minister probable Sheila Dikshit met her supporters at the DPCC office this morning. Later, accompanied by the newly elected members, she called on Mrs Gandhi.

Party sources described the event as "a courtesy call to congratulate Mrs Gandhi for the party’s spectacular performance".

In sharp contrast and as expected, a pall of gloom descended on the BJP camp both at its state unit office and party headquarters at 11, Ashok Road.

BJP leaders are engaged in introspection over the results and varying reasons are being attributed for the electoral debacle in party’s hitherto stronghold.

Outgoing Chief Minister Sushma Swaraj blamed infighting within BJP for the party’s rout, while others attributed the drubbing to price rise.

Besides the infighting in the BJP, a flood of onion tears besides rise in prices of other essential items helped Congress to gain 38 seats in the elections to the Capital with a 16 per cent swing of votes in its favour.

The number of seats won by the Congress is also higher than what the BJP won in the 1993 elections to the assembly with at least 50 per cent votes being garnered by it.

In contrast, the BJP suffered a 6 per cent swing against it to lose 35 seats in the assembly. Others, including the Janata Dal and Independents, saw their popularity go down by 11 per cent to lose four seats.

In the current election, the Congress has won 51 seats against 14 last time, while the BJP, which earned 36 per cent votes, has to contend with 15 seats against 49 last time. The Janata Dal has won just one seat against four last time and Independents two against three in the last elections.

A look at the 1998 Lok Sabha elections reveals a clear setback to the BJP, which had garnered 56 per cent of the votes in March.

Adulteration of mustard oil leading to deaths due to dropsy, poor law and order situation and frequent power cuts were other issues in the elections.

The Congress, on the other hand, has seen its fortune improve with an additional 8 per cent of votes swinging in its favour, besides the 5 per cent it earned during the Lok Sabha elections.

The composition of the new assembly in the Capital will see the Congress making up 75 per cent of the seats and the BJP 20 per cent, while others would comprise 5 per cent.

This is against the 20 per cent of the seats commanded by the Congress and 70 per cent by the BJP in the outgoing assembly. Others held 10 per cent of the seats.

The situation is also in stark contrast to the 1998 Lok Sabha elections when the BJP won six of the seven constituencies in the Capital. It, in fact, wrested one seat from the Congress then.

The last time the Congress won such a large share of votes was in 1952 when it garnered 52.1 per cent of the votes polled for then 48-member council.

In the 1993 elections, the BJP’s M L Khurana became the first Chief Minister of Delhi but he had to resign midway as the shadows of the Jain hawala case fell on him.

Though he was acquitted of all the charges, the BJP refused to hand over the reigns from Mr Sahib Singh Verma, who was replaced just a month before the just-concluded elections.

In 1993, the BJP took advantage of a split of votes between the Congress and the Janata Dal, which has been reduced to a minuscule now.

Moreover, the Congress has demolished the Bharatiya Janata Party’s tall claims of supremacy in vast rural belts and mushrooming slums in Outer and East Delhi by bagging as many as 30 of its 41 seats in these areas in the Capital.

The Congress dealt a severe blow to the BJP in some of its most formidable constituencies in the rural hinterland of Outer Delhi, considered a stronghold of Jat leader and former Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, winning 15 of the 20 seats for which elections were held.

Election to the Nangloi seat was postponed following the killing of Samata Party candidate Ved Singh.

The BJP’s drubbing in Outer Delhi, where the party had secured 15 seats in the 1993 assembly elections, seemed to have been the outcome of infighting among heavyweights Madan Lal Khurana and Verma. The abrupt ouster of Verma also appeared to have angered the voters in the Jat-dominated belt.

BJP candidates managed to sail through against the anti-incumbency tide only in four Outer Delhi assembly segments, while an Independent won from Badarpur.

Congress candidates had a field day in vast slum clusters and unauthorised and resettlement colonies of East Delhi humbling their BJP rivals in 15 of the 20 seats in the area.

Rebel Congress candidate Matin Ahmed who contested as an Independent also retained the Seelampur seat with a spectacular performance.

The landslide victory of the Congress in Delhi took a heavy toll of many a BJP stalwart at the hustings as the saffron fortress crumbled like a house of cards.

While Chief Minister Sushma Swaraj managed to scrape through with a slender margin of 2,615 votes in the posh Hauz Khas constituency, DPCC president Sheila Dikshit won comfortably from Gole Market, bowling out sitting BJP MLA and former cricketer Kirti Azad.

Among the prominent losers from the BJP camp were high-profile Food Minister Poornima Sethi and Tourism Minister S P Ratawal.

Former Transport Minister Rajendra Gupta also failed to retain the Malviya Nagar seat, while many BJP heavyweights had to bite the dust in the bastions of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Lal Khurana and his bete noire, former Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma.

A few of the BJP veterans who had to eat the humble pie were Fateh Singh, Alok Kumar, Mewa Ram Arya and P K Chandla.

The party, however, managed to save face with three minister — Harsh Vardhan, Jagdish Mukhi and H.S. Balli — managing to sail through the tide.

Among the 51 Congress winners were former DPCC chiefs Deep Chand Bandhu and Prem Singh, Tajdar Babbar, Krishna Tirath, Anjali Rai and Ajay Maken.

Allies stand by BJP

New Delhi, Nov 29 (PTI) — The BJP today said there was no threat to the government with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee asserting that he was prepared to face any challenge from the Opposition, including a trial of strength in Parliament in the wake of party’s debacle in the recent Assembly elections.

"Our allies have reaffirmed their support and together we will convert the challenge posed by the Assembly election results into an opportunity", a statement issued by the party after the parliamentary board meeting said.

Earlier, addressing the executive of the parliamentary party, the Prime Minister said: "We are prepared to prove our majority," and cautioned that all opposition groups were likely to be united in demanding the resignation of the government on moral grounds.

Mr Vajpayee told the meeting that the poll results were "against the party’s expectations," and it would introspect on the reasons for the debacle.

Briefing newspersons on the parliamentary board meeting, party spokesman Venkaiah Naidu said the party felt that the anti-incumbency factor, coupled with the emotive issue of price rise, had played a key role in the party’s defeat and said the Congress had gained by a negative vote by conducting a virulent campaign on this emotive issue.

Mr Naidu said the rise in price of essential commodities and vegetables, especially onions, in the last six months resulted in a negative vote against the party, but denied that it was a referendum against the Centre or a vote against misgovernance.

He said the party nonetheless graciously accepted the people’s verdict and dedicated itself to the task of fulfilling the duties of a responsible and alert opposition party in these four states.

Mr Naidu said a full review of the election results will be undertaken after voting details and patterns were available. The party’s central office bearers will meet in the Capital on December 7 and analyse the results which will be followed by a meeting of the national executive on December 19 and 20.

The party would identify the aspects with regard to improving the performance and the government at these two meetings, he said.

Mr Naidu said state units have been asked to hold meetings to analyse the factors responsible for the defeat and provide proper inputs to the central leadership to enable it to analyse the electoral reverses suffered by the party.

Reforms to stay: PM

NEW DELHI, Nov 29 (PTI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today asserted that the current "volatility in Indian politics" will not derail the reform process and outlined a 12-point medium term economic agenda to achieve 7 to 8 per cent growth.

"Whatever is happening now is a sign of vibrancy of the Indian democracy...do not be overly influenced by the democratic drama of the day", Mr Vajpayee said in an obvious reference to the BJP’s reverses in the assembly elections.

"I would like to assure you that volatility in Indian politics will have no fundamental impact on the process of economic reforms in the country", he said opening the three-day India Economic Summit.

"The reform process has become irreversible. Indeed, my government has depoliticised the economic agenda", he told the summit organised by the World Economic Forum and Confederation of Indian Industry.

Stating that government’s agenda was to "catalyse" large flows of foreign and NRI investment in priority areas, Mr Vajpayee asked foreign investors to look at India’s inherent strength. "The huge business opportunities will grow irrespective of political vagaries".

Outlining the 12-point agenda, the Prime Minister said the government would rein in fiscal deficit, increase domestic savings to 30 per cent of the GDP, remove infrastructure bottle-necks and strengthen financial and banking sectors by making them more transparent and accountable.

In preparing India to face the challenges of full liberalisation and globalisation, Mr Vajpayee said his government will create policies to achieve a 7 to 8 per cent GDP growth through a strategy that ensures low inflation and high employment generation.

He said the financial and banking sector would be strengthened by introducing transparency, accountability and non interference by the government.

Fiscal deficit would be reined in through a combination of measures like expenditure control and increased revenue buoyancy, he said.

Public sector enterprises would be productively restructured, he said adding that infrastructure constraints would be addressed and high priority accorded to promotion of information technology.

Sustainable agricultural growth and creation of widespread rural prosperity would be encouraged by promoting massive private investments in agriculture and agro processing industry, he said.

While stating that domestic savings would be stepped up to 30 per cent of the GDP, Mr Vajpayee said high long term export growth would be encouraged to increase India’s share of world trade.

Attempts would be made to strengthen "our negotiating skills in settling trade disputes and representing our interests in trade fora", he said.