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Assembly
election results
BJP wins MP, Rajasthan; Chhattisgarh heads for photo finish; AAP makes stunning debut in Delhi
NEW DELHI: In elections seen as a
"semi-final" before the 2014 Lok Sabha battle, the BJP retained Madhya Pradesh and ousted the Congress in Rajasthan. The Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) stunning show in Delhi pushed the Congress to a humiliating third spot, with the BJP looking set to take power despite lacking a clear majority.
The Congress and the BJP are in a cliffhanger neck-and-neck race in Chhattisgarh.
A humbled Congress, which had pitted its vice-president Rahul Gandhi against the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in the hectic election campaign, said it would "introspect" why it lost Rajasthan, was crushed in Delhi and why it couldn't dislodge the BJP in Madhya Pradesh.
"Our congratulations to those who have won in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan," said a despondent Congress leader Jayanthi Natarajan. "In Delhi, we accept the verdict and will examine the results. We will find out what has gone wrong."
"Our work is cut out for us and we have to face realities," said Congress minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was projected as a possible
Chief Minister candidate for Madhya Pradesh, which the party lost badly.
The BJP said the verdict dominantly reflected "mass anger" against the Congress, which has ruled India since 2004 at the head of a multi-party United Progressive Alliance alliance.
"This is an anti-Congress vote. There is an impact of Modi also," said spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman, referring to the party's prime ministerial candidate who campaigned in all four states with gusto.
BJP activists erupted into celebrations all across Madhya Pradesh, which the party has ruled since 2003, and Rajasthan, where the Congress suffered a disastrous defeat.
But the Congress put up a spirited show in Chhattisgarh, where it appeared at one stage to be edging past the Raman Singh-led BJP after being in the opposition for a decade.
Chhattisgarh state general secretary Ramesh Varlyhani said the Congress "expected to form a government" in the state. But officials said the BJP had again taken a narrow lead over the Congress.
As per latest trends, BJP is leading in 44 seats while Congress is leading in
43 seats.
The Congress was decimated in Rajasthan, and could be left with only 22 seats in the 200-member
House while the BJP could win as many as 159 seats.
In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP was on the road to winning from 159 of the 230 constituencies.
The most stunning verdict came from Delhi where Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister for 15 long years, resigned after leading the party to a rout,
and she herself lost humiliatingly to AAP founder leader Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi constituency, which she considered her pocket borough.
The BJP was close to winning 32 of the 70 seats. The AAP, born out of the anti-corruption movement of Anna Hazare, was tipped to bag 27 seats, just one year after it was formed, a performance that even its political foes admitted was spectacular.
"We always thought of AAP as competition and we were expecting it to get double digit seats but this is surprising," Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel said.
— Agencies
Cong accepts defeat
New
Delhi: Congress today accepted defeat in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, saying it was disappointed with the poll outcome.
"The results in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are disappointing.... We concede that we have lost there," party spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala said when asked about the trends.
He, however, dismissed suggestions that the performance of BJP in the Assembly
polls was an indication that the party could sweep the Lok Sabha elections next year.
He recalled that BJP had won 2003 Assembly polls but lost badly in the Lok Sabha elections.
"Any celebration ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls will be premature. BJP refuses to learn from history.... There was similar sort of upbeat mood in the BJP in 2004, when the NDA had lost," he said.
Surjewala also said that Chhattisgarh "is a ray of hope" and Mizoram "will also bring some heer".
Expressing suprise over the results in Delhi, where the debutant Aam Aadmi Party is competing with BJP for the first place, AICC general secretary in-charge for the state Shakeel Ahmed said, "We were not expecting these results. The reasons for this will be analysed".
Congress has been in power in Delhi for 15 years with Shiela Dikshit having the distinction of the longest-serving woman Chief Minister in independent India.
In the last Assembly polls, the Congress had won as many as 43 seats in the 70-member legislative Assembly and its fortunes have dwindled sharply this time with the party likely to get less than 10 seats.
Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi dismissed suggestions that the trends showed that there was a wave in favour of BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in the country.
Congress leader and Union Minister Shashi Tharoor said his party has very capable, experienced political leaders who are surely going to analyse in detail and find what corrective measures are needed.
He said across the the country there were regional parties and areas where the BJP has no presence.
"So we should not be too hasty in suddenly seeing a sort of tsunami in favour of party that has done well today," Tharoor said.
— PTI
It's people's victory, says Kejriwal
NEW DELHI: A beaming Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal
on Sunday termed his and his party's phenomenal success in the Delhi Assembly poll as the "people's victory".
Contesting from the New Delhi constituency, considered a Congress pocket burough, Kejriwal fought against three-time Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijender Gupta.
The AAP leader got 44,269 votes defeating Dikshit who got 18,405 votes. BJP's Gupta came in a close third with 17,952 votes.
Waving to throngs of cheering and dancing supporters at AAP's Hanuman Road party office in Connaught Place here, Kejriwal, who briefly appeared at the first-floor window in the midst of his party's confabulations, said: "This isn't my victory... It's a victory of the people of New Delhi constituency and victory of democracy."
As his supporters waved the broom, the party symbol, Kejriwal said he was always confident of his party's victory.
Following Dikshit's resignation on Sunday, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung dissolved the legislative Assembly and forwarded the resignation to President Pranab Mukherjee.
AAP leader Kumar Vishwas, standing next to Kejriwal, shouted into the mike "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Aam aadmi hain, hum aam aadmi hain (We are the common people)". — IANS
Modi congratulates Chouhan, Vasundhara
Ahmedabad: BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi today congratulated Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Rajasthan BJP president Vasundhara Raje after the counting trends showed that the saffron party is leading in the two states.
Giving his first reaction to conclusive trends of both the states, where counting is going on, Modi, who had campaigned extensively in all the four states where elections were held, congratulated the leaders of MP and Rajasthan.
He seemed to have reserved his comment on Chattisgarh and Delhi where the situation is still unclear.
"Called Shivraj ji to congratulate him for BJP's wonderful performance in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections!" Modi tweeted.
In an another tweet, Modi said, "spoke to Vasundhara ji & congratulated her for the historic victory of BJP in Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha elections".
Modi is likely to go to Delhi later in the day to attend a party meeting.
"Gujarat Chief Minister will go to Delhi to take part in the party's parliamentary board meeting later today," sources in state BJP said. PTI
Mizoram poll: Counting of votes tomorrow
Aizawl: Counting of votes for
the 40-member Mizoram Assembly, election to which was held on November 25, would be held tomorrow.
State Joint Chief Electoral Officer H Lalengmawia today said that elaborate security arrangements have been made in the counting centres in the eight districts.
Director General of Election Commission of India Ashish Srivastava and a number of observers have arrived to supervise and oversee the process, he said.
At total of 142 candidates, including six women, are in the fray.
The ruling Congress has contested all the 40 seats as has Mizoram Democratic Alliance
(MDA). MDA constituent Mizo National Front (MNF) has contested in 31, Mizoram People's Conference
(MPC) in eight and Maraland Democratic Front (MDF) contested in one seat.
Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) fielded candidates in 38 seats, while BJP contested 17 seats. Others included 2 NCP candidates, one Jai Maha Bharhat Party and four
Independents.
Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla of Congress is in the reckoning from
Serchhip, his home turf, and neighbouring Hrangturzo. The main opponent MNF leader and former
Chief Minister Zoramthanga is trying his luck from Tuipui East seat. —
PTI
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