ID :
34595
Tue, 12/09/2008 - 14:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/34595
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Cong victory march in Delhi; hat-trick for Sheila
New Delhi, Dec 8 (PTI) Congress Monday created history in
Delhi by winning the state Assembly elections for the third
consecutive term, overcoming anti-incumbency and fear of
Mumbai terror attacks costing it votes.
The Grand-Old-Party romped home with 42 seats in the
70-member Assembly, leaving Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) far
behind with 23 seats and dashing its hopes of wresting power
after ten years.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and all six of her
cabinet colleagues emerged victorious though five sitting MLAs
lost their ground in their hustings.
"I am humbled. I am happy for the Congress Party. I am
happy for the people of Delhi. Thank you for this gracious
verdict," said jubiliant Dikshit as thousands of supporters
gathered at her residence to celebrate the victory.
The 71-year-old Chief Minister, who retained power for
Congress on the twin plank of development and governance,
listed out smooth conduct of Commonwealth games and overall
development as priorities for the next party government.
BJP, on the other hand, said its performance in the
elections was "less than our expectations" and wondered
whether projecting a younger candidate instead of 78-year-old
V K Malhotra could have ensured its victory.
"A younger chief ministerial candidate, perhaps, could
have helped. Arun Jaitley could have been a better candidate,"
BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which was thought to affect
Congress prospects through Mayawati's social engineering
experiment, failed to make much impact in terms of seats as it
got only two.
Springing a surprise, Om Prakash Chautala-led Indian
National Lok Dal (INLD) opened its account in the capital with
its candidate Bharat Singh winning from Najafgarh seat.
Conceding defeat, BJP's chief ministerial candidate Vijay
Kumar Malhotra said the party's performance in the elections
to the state had not been up to expectations.
"It is our defeat. The results in the Assembly polls have
not been on expected lines. We will certainly review why our
candidates could not win in some seats that were considered
our stronghold," Malhotra said.
The women power in the new Assembly has shrunk to three,
including Dikshit, from seven, though 81 candidates of the
fair sex were in the fray. Besides Dikshit, Barkha Singh (R K
Puram) and Kiran Walia (Malviya Nagar) were elected.
Five Muslims were also elected to the new Assembly,
including Transport Minister Harun Yusuf and Deputy Speaker
Shoaib Iqbal.
Interestingly, Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
came to a sniffing distance with party candidate Asif Mohammad
Khan losing out to three-time Congress MLA Parvez Hashmi by a
razer thin margin of 400 votes in Muslim-dominated Okhla.
The contest in Okhla had assumed significance as tempers
were running high following the encounter in Jamia Nagar in
which two suspected terrorists allegedly involved in serial
blasts across the country were killed.
This election also gave anxious moments for many top
leaders like Ministers Raj Kumar Chouhan and Yusuf, Speaker
Chaudhury Prem Singh and Delhi BJP chief Harsh Vardhan as they
had to wait till the last round of counting to emerge
victorious.
As the election results sunk in, the atmosphere in
Congress and BJP was a study in contrast.
Opening of champagne bottles, bursting of fire crackers
and dancing to the beating of drums was how euphoric Congress
workers celebrated their victory as BJP camp wore a deserted
look.
Among the candidates, BJP's Harcharan Singh Balli won the
highest victory margin of 37,777 votes while Congress' Hashmi
won with a slender margin of just 400 votes.
More than 25 victorious candidates from various parties
have romped home by a difference of more than 10,000 votes.
The Assembly will have 12 fresh faces this time which
include youth leaders to a veteran physician while 14 MLAs are
veterans who were legislators from 1993 when Delhi Assembly
was set up.
Besides losing the battle at the hustings, Congress'
Ramvir Singh Bidhuri will have to live with another ignominy
of being the only candidate who lost the elections while
fighting for a fourth consecutive term.
For Dikshit, the Chief Minister for the past ten years,
this election was a 'do-or-die' battle as the party had given
her an almost free-hand in candidate selection, which saw
Delhi stalwarts like Union Minister Ajay Maken and Sajjan
Kumar MP being sidelined.
Though Congress has not declared its Chief Ministerial
candidate, the party has given clear indication that if voted
to power, Dikshit will have a "third inning".
The election season in the capital began with intense
lobbying for party nominations, which turned almost violent
with supporters of some aspirants heckling BJP Delhi chief
Harsh Vardhan and damaging the car of his Congress counterpart
Jai Prakash Aggarwal.
The voting for Rajendra Nagar seat was rescheduled to
December 13 after BJP candidate Puran Chand Yogi allegedly
committed suicide. PTI TEAM
PMR
Delhi by winning the state Assembly elections for the third
consecutive term, overcoming anti-incumbency and fear of
Mumbai terror attacks costing it votes.
The Grand-Old-Party romped home with 42 seats in the
70-member Assembly, leaving Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) far
behind with 23 seats and dashing its hopes of wresting power
after ten years.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and all six of her
cabinet colleagues emerged victorious though five sitting MLAs
lost their ground in their hustings.
"I am humbled. I am happy for the Congress Party. I am
happy for the people of Delhi. Thank you for this gracious
verdict," said jubiliant Dikshit as thousands of supporters
gathered at her residence to celebrate the victory.
The 71-year-old Chief Minister, who retained power for
Congress on the twin plank of development and governance,
listed out smooth conduct of Commonwealth games and overall
development as priorities for the next party government.
BJP, on the other hand, said its performance in the
elections was "less than our expectations" and wondered
whether projecting a younger candidate instead of 78-year-old
V K Malhotra could have ensured its victory.
"A younger chief ministerial candidate, perhaps, could
have helped. Arun Jaitley could have been a better candidate,"
BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which was thought to affect
Congress prospects through Mayawati's social engineering
experiment, failed to make much impact in terms of seats as it
got only two.
Springing a surprise, Om Prakash Chautala-led Indian
National Lok Dal (INLD) opened its account in the capital with
its candidate Bharat Singh winning from Najafgarh seat.
Conceding defeat, BJP's chief ministerial candidate Vijay
Kumar Malhotra said the party's performance in the elections
to the state had not been up to expectations.
"It is our defeat. The results in the Assembly polls have
not been on expected lines. We will certainly review why our
candidates could not win in some seats that were considered
our stronghold," Malhotra said.
The women power in the new Assembly has shrunk to three,
including Dikshit, from seven, though 81 candidates of the
fair sex were in the fray. Besides Dikshit, Barkha Singh (R K
Puram) and Kiran Walia (Malviya Nagar) were elected.
Five Muslims were also elected to the new Assembly,
including Transport Minister Harun Yusuf and Deputy Speaker
Shoaib Iqbal.
Interestingly, Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
came to a sniffing distance with party candidate Asif Mohammad
Khan losing out to three-time Congress MLA Parvez Hashmi by a
razer thin margin of 400 votes in Muslim-dominated Okhla.
The contest in Okhla had assumed significance as tempers
were running high following the encounter in Jamia Nagar in
which two suspected terrorists allegedly involved in serial
blasts across the country were killed.
This election also gave anxious moments for many top
leaders like Ministers Raj Kumar Chouhan and Yusuf, Speaker
Chaudhury Prem Singh and Delhi BJP chief Harsh Vardhan as they
had to wait till the last round of counting to emerge
victorious.
As the election results sunk in, the atmosphere in
Congress and BJP was a study in contrast.
Opening of champagne bottles, bursting of fire crackers
and dancing to the beating of drums was how euphoric Congress
workers celebrated their victory as BJP camp wore a deserted
look.
Among the candidates, BJP's Harcharan Singh Balli won the
highest victory margin of 37,777 votes while Congress' Hashmi
won with a slender margin of just 400 votes.
More than 25 victorious candidates from various parties
have romped home by a difference of more than 10,000 votes.
The Assembly will have 12 fresh faces this time which
include youth leaders to a veteran physician while 14 MLAs are
veterans who were legislators from 1993 when Delhi Assembly
was set up.
Besides losing the battle at the hustings, Congress'
Ramvir Singh Bidhuri will have to live with another ignominy
of being the only candidate who lost the elections while
fighting for a fourth consecutive term.
For Dikshit, the Chief Minister for the past ten years,
this election was a 'do-or-die' battle as the party had given
her an almost free-hand in candidate selection, which saw
Delhi stalwarts like Union Minister Ajay Maken and Sajjan
Kumar MP being sidelined.
Though Congress has not declared its Chief Ministerial
candidate, the party has given clear indication that if voted
to power, Dikshit will have a "third inning".
The election season in the capital began with intense
lobbying for party nominations, which turned almost violent
with supporters of some aspirants heckling BJP Delhi chief
Harsh Vardhan and damaging the car of his Congress counterpart
Jai Prakash Aggarwal.
The voting for Rajendra Nagar seat was rescheduled to
December 13 after BJP candidate Puran Chand Yogi allegedly
committed suicide. PTI TEAM
PMR
