M A I N   N E W S

Congress: it's triumph over communalism
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 3
The Congress today said that its victory in Himachal Pradesh elections was a triumph of ''liberal forces over the forces of communalism.''

Congress chief spokesperson Jaipal Reddy said that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and other BJP leaders tried to implement their ''Gujarat formula'' in Himachal Pradesh but failed in their attempt.

He said the Prime Minister tried to explain the defeat of the BJP by pointing to the internal differences in the party. ''But that explanation was half-hearted. He himself admitted that there was no enthusiasm in the response from people who attended his election meetings,'' he said.