ID :
34596
Tue, 12/09/2008 - 14:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/34596
The shortlink copeid
Its 3-2 for Cong as BJP suffers defeat in Raj and Delhi
New Delhi, Dec 8 (PTI) Coming up trumps in the 'semi
final' ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress Monday
delivered a shock defeat to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in
Rajasthan and swept the polls in Delhi and Mizoram while the
saffron party won convincingly to retain Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh.
Scoring a hat-trick in Delhi and getting a two-thirds
majority in Mizoram after a decade in wilderness, the party,
however, fell five short of majority in the 200-member
Assembly in Rajasthan.
With a number of party rebels and independents winning
in Rajasthan, the party hopes to cobble a majority without any
difficulty.
Ousting the Vasundhara Raje government, the Congress
won 96 seats while the BJP got 78 and Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP) six. Independents have won 14 seats while others account
for six, including one of Samajwadi Party.
Creating history in the capital, the Congress led by
71-year-old Shiela Dikshit romped home with 42 seats in the
70-member Assembly, leaving BJP far behind at 23 seats with
its hopes of wresting power after a decade dashed.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and all six of her
cabinet colleagues emerged victorious. Opening its account,
the BSP won two seats.
In Mizoram, the Congress wrested power from the Mizo
National Front, winning 29 of the 40 seats.
The elections, seen as the 'semi-final' ahead of the
Lok Sabha polls next year, brought cheer to the Congress which
had faced debacles in 13 states after coming to power at the
head of a coalition at the Centre in 2004.
The BJP, which hoped to cash in on the terror card
especially after the November 26 Mumbai attacks and sweep in
all the states barring Mizoram, retained its grip on Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on development plank, breaking the
jinx of failing to get re-elected in any state other than
Gujarat.
Staving off anti-incumbency factor, BJP secured a
majority by winning 118 seats in the 230-member Assembly in
Madhya Pradesh. In the 2003 Assembly elections, the party had
secured 172 seats against Congress' 39 in the state.
The Congress this time won 51 seats and the Bahujan
Samaj Party four. Although Uma Bharti herself lost the polls,
her Bharatiya Janashakti Party won three seats. The Samajwadi
Party bagged only one seat while independents won in two.
Repeating the success in neighbouring Chhattisgarh,
the saffron party led by chief minister Raman Singh bagged a
majority with 50 seats, the same as it had secured in the 2003
elections.
Among the Congress stalwarts who lost were Mahendra
Karma, leader of the opposition. The architect of the
anti-naxal Salwa Judum movement suffered a shock defeat,
dropping to third place behind the BJP and CPI candidates. PCC
President Dhanendra Sahu also lost and resigned from his post.
In Rajasthan, in the 2003 elections the BJP had won
121 seats and the Congress 53. Six ministers and the Speaker
in the Raje government were among those who lost this time in
the desert state. The state Congress chief C P Joshi lost by
one vote in Nathdwara while his predecessor P D Kalla was also
defeated.
In Delhi, the Congress had won 48 seats and the BJP 19
in the last elections while in Mizoram the now routed MNF had
won 21 seats and the Congress 12.
Putting up a brave face, BJP President Rajnath Singh
said the election results were not a setback to the party
which had lost one state-- Rajasthan-- to the Congress.
Singh did term as "surprising" the poll outcome in
Delhi. However, his party colleague and in-charge of Delhi
elections Arun Jaitley said the loss in the capital was a
setback to the party.
Some of the BJP leaders felt a younger could have
countered the 'Shiela Dikshit effect' instead of 78-year-old
Vijay Kumar Malhotra who was projected as the chief
ministerial candidate.
"We went to the polls on the development ground with
honesty and unity, and people have voted for that," Dikshit
said.
Buoyed by the results, an elated Congress said there
was "no stopping" the party from returning to power at the
Centre in the Lok Sabha polls.
"There is no stopping the Congress. We are very
confident of winning the next general elections," senior
Congress leader M Verappa Moily told reporters.
Asked whether there was any chance of holding the Lok
Sabha polls early, he said the election would be held as
scheduled in April but "even in February it is possible".
The Congress, which was worried over the fallout of
the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks, was relieved that it
did not have much impact on the poll outcome.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary
and Congress's chief campaigner in Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot said
that the voters had cast their votes against "Chief Minster
Raje's rule of terror" and not the Mumbai attacks.
"The common people of Rajasthan were terrorised under
Raje's rule. Now their mandate is to put her shadow of terror
behind," he said.
Gehlot, who won from Sardarpura seat, is the
frontrunner in the race for chief ministership. PTI TEAM
PMR
final' ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress Monday
delivered a shock defeat to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in
Rajasthan and swept the polls in Delhi and Mizoram while the
saffron party won convincingly to retain Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh.
Scoring a hat-trick in Delhi and getting a two-thirds
majority in Mizoram after a decade in wilderness, the party,
however, fell five short of majority in the 200-member
Assembly in Rajasthan.
With a number of party rebels and independents winning
in Rajasthan, the party hopes to cobble a majority without any
difficulty.
Ousting the Vasundhara Raje government, the Congress
won 96 seats while the BJP got 78 and Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP) six. Independents have won 14 seats while others account
for six, including one of Samajwadi Party.
Creating history in the capital, the Congress led by
71-year-old Shiela Dikshit romped home with 42 seats in the
70-member Assembly, leaving BJP far behind at 23 seats with
its hopes of wresting power after a decade dashed.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and all six of her
cabinet colleagues emerged victorious. Opening its account,
the BSP won two seats.
In Mizoram, the Congress wrested power from the Mizo
National Front, winning 29 of the 40 seats.
The elections, seen as the 'semi-final' ahead of the
Lok Sabha polls next year, brought cheer to the Congress which
had faced debacles in 13 states after coming to power at the
head of a coalition at the Centre in 2004.
The BJP, which hoped to cash in on the terror card
especially after the November 26 Mumbai attacks and sweep in
all the states barring Mizoram, retained its grip on Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on development plank, breaking the
jinx of failing to get re-elected in any state other than
Gujarat.
Staving off anti-incumbency factor, BJP secured a
majority by winning 118 seats in the 230-member Assembly in
Madhya Pradesh. In the 2003 Assembly elections, the party had
secured 172 seats against Congress' 39 in the state.
The Congress this time won 51 seats and the Bahujan
Samaj Party four. Although Uma Bharti herself lost the polls,
her Bharatiya Janashakti Party won three seats. The Samajwadi
Party bagged only one seat while independents won in two.
Repeating the success in neighbouring Chhattisgarh,
the saffron party led by chief minister Raman Singh bagged a
majority with 50 seats, the same as it had secured in the 2003
elections.
Among the Congress stalwarts who lost were Mahendra
Karma, leader of the opposition. The architect of the
anti-naxal Salwa Judum movement suffered a shock defeat,
dropping to third place behind the BJP and CPI candidates. PCC
President Dhanendra Sahu also lost and resigned from his post.
In Rajasthan, in the 2003 elections the BJP had won
121 seats and the Congress 53. Six ministers and the Speaker
in the Raje government were among those who lost this time in
the desert state. The state Congress chief C P Joshi lost by
one vote in Nathdwara while his predecessor P D Kalla was also
defeated.
In Delhi, the Congress had won 48 seats and the BJP 19
in the last elections while in Mizoram the now routed MNF had
won 21 seats and the Congress 12.
Putting up a brave face, BJP President Rajnath Singh
said the election results were not a setback to the party
which had lost one state-- Rajasthan-- to the Congress.
Singh did term as "surprising" the poll outcome in
Delhi. However, his party colleague and in-charge of Delhi
elections Arun Jaitley said the loss in the capital was a
setback to the party.
Some of the BJP leaders felt a younger could have
countered the 'Shiela Dikshit effect' instead of 78-year-old
Vijay Kumar Malhotra who was projected as the chief
ministerial candidate.
"We went to the polls on the development ground with
honesty and unity, and people have voted for that," Dikshit
said.
Buoyed by the results, an elated Congress said there
was "no stopping" the party from returning to power at the
Centre in the Lok Sabha polls.
"There is no stopping the Congress. We are very
confident of winning the next general elections," senior
Congress leader M Verappa Moily told reporters.
Asked whether there was any chance of holding the Lok
Sabha polls early, he said the election would be held as
scheduled in April but "even in February it is possible".
The Congress, which was worried over the fallout of
the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks, was relieved that it
did not have much impact on the poll outcome.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary
and Congress's chief campaigner in Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot said
that the voters had cast their votes against "Chief Minster
Raje's rule of terror" and not the Mumbai attacks.
"The common people of Rajasthan were terrorised under
Raje's rule. Now their mandate is to put her shadow of terror
behind," he said.
Gehlot, who won from Sardarpura seat, is the
frontrunner in the race for chief ministership. PTI TEAM
PMR
