SP Wipes Out Maya in UP, Hung Assembly in Uttarakhand
Lucknow, Mar 6 (IANS): The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Akali Dal emerged big winners Tuesday, with one poised to govern Uttar Pradesh and the other breaking a four-decade jinx to retain power in Punjab, leaving national parties BJP and Congress to count their losses despite wins in two of the five states.
Two ruling parties ousted, two holding on to power despite the odds and a neck and neck race in a fifth state - it was a confused electoral pastiche as millions of votes were counted for elections held in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. It was the biggest popularity test since the 2009 general elections.
Punjab was set to go back to the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine, which survived anti-incumbency to emerge winner with leads in 63 seats against the Congress' 51 in the 117-member house. In Manipur, the Congress overcame the anti-incumbency to sweep the polls.
However, the Congress government in Goa prepared to make way for BJP rule.
In Uttar Pradesh, the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) faced defeat with trends indicating that it would get just 88 of the 403 seats, leaving the SP triumphant with a stunning mandate of 214 seats.
The Congress, which tied up with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), trailed a poor fourth with a combined estimated tally of 37 seats. The BJP struggled at number three with 46 seats.
It was a close fight in Uttarakhand with the Congress and the BJP in a neck-and-neck contest in the 70-member assembly.
As pundits and voters alike tried to make sense of the scenario, all were agreed that this electoral battle had left India's ruling Congress badly bruised and the famed Gandhi charisma in serious question. The only silver lining for the party was Manipur, where its chief minister O. Idobi Singh held on to power for a third time.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, son of party president Sonia Gandhi, had staked all in politically powerful Uttar Pradesh but come a clear cropper.
Prince Charming's charm failed, said a sceptic, pointing to the Congrsss rout in Rae Bareli, represented by party president Sonia Gandhi in the Lok Sabha where it lost all five seats. Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka had campaigned in what is known as the pocket borough of the Gandhis.
The party sprung to its chief campaigner's defence with Uttar Pradesh party chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi saying the onus for defeat lay with the state unit.
"The Congress was the first to start the oust Mayawati campaign, but we could not take the benefit due to lack of party infrastructure," Minister of State for Communications Sachin Pilot told IANS. "Rahulji led the campaign from the front."
Other party leaders admitted that they were stunned.
"The UP results are deeply disappointing," said Law Minister Salman Khurshid, whose wife Louise suffered a humiliating defeat in Farrukhabad.
The BJP put up a brave face.
"It's a mixed bag for BJP," its leader Sushma Swaraj told reporters. "We have won Punjab, we are winning Goa, we are nearing the majority in Uttarakhand also."
The mood was very different in the Akali Dal and SP camps.
Wild celebrations broke out at Badal village as 85-year-old Parkash Singh Badal steered the Akali Dal-BJP combine to another victory.
Ditto at the SP headquarters in Lucknow where Mulayam Singh Yadav came back as chief minister for a fourth term.
"I would like to congratulate the people of Uttar Pradesh who have brought Samajwadi Party back. The hope with which they have supported us, we will meet their expectations," a confident Mulayam Yadav said.
Uttarakhand headed for hung assembly
Dehradun, March 6 (IANS) : Uttarakhand is headed for a hung assembly with the the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) leading in 29 seats in the initial trends and the Congress ahead in 28 seats of the 70 assembly constituencies.
It was a close call between the two parties since the results started coming in with the BJP overtaking the Congress midway.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was third with leads in four seats while the Samajwadi Party (SP) registered a nought.
BJP-MGP alliance win in Goa; to stake claim Wednesday
Panaji, March 6 (IANS): Riding on a strong anti-incumbency wave, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) alliance Tuesday romped home, winning 24 seats in the 40-member Goa legislative assembly.
The BJP won 21 seats - a simple majority on its own - while the MGP won three seats. The Congress alliance won only nine seats, with coalition partner Nationalist Congress party (NCP) failing to win in even a single constituency.
The regional Goa Vikas Party (GVP), led by former tourism minister Francisco Pacheco, won two seats, while five independents also emerged victorious.
Chief Minister Digambar Kamat submitted his resignation letter to Governor K. Sankaranarayan in the afternoon, and it was accepted.
Speaking to reporters late Tuesday evening, a senior BJP leader said the BJP-MGP alliance members along with the two independent candidates who backed the alliance, would be meeting the governor Wednesday afternoon to stake claim to forming the government.
"We are meeting Wednesday morning to finalise the chief minister candidate to head the alliance," the party official said.
Speaking to reporters, BJP leader Manohar Parrikar, a hot favourite for the top post, said that among the new government's first tasks was to deliver promises made in the party's election manifesto, which includes lowering price of petrol to Rs.55 and handing over corruption and illegal mining cases to the Lokayukta.
"Hindus, Christians and Muslims have all reposed faith in the BJP and have ousted the Congress. And I will make sure that the BJP will repay their faith manifold," said Parrikar, thanking the people for the record mandate for his party.
The BJP, this time round, had made open overtures to the minority community in Goa by fielding six Catholic candidates and supporting two other Catholic independent candidates. All the eight candidates promoted by the BJP won.
This is the first time that the BJP, which has ruled Goa with the help of wobbly alliances and coups in the past, has won a simple majority.
Congressmen across ranks have blamed the rout on the party high command for unilaterally enforcing the policy of giving tickets to kin of sitting legislators.
"The family raaj (policy) was the Congress's Waterloo. It was embarrassing... the Delhi leaders who came to Goa for canvassing have no explanation for family raj. The Congress has scored a self-goal. We should now perform the role of a constructive opposition," Congress spokesperson Ramakant Khalap said.
The Alemao family, which was allotted four tickets by the Congress-NCP alliance, lost all four seats, while home minister Ravi Naik and his son Roy, who were contesting on Congress tickets, also lost.
Congress leaders across the board have called for a collective introspection into the massive loss. "We accept our loss. We need to introspect this mandate," Congress MP Shantaram Naik said.
Before submitting his resignation, Digambar Kamat said one of the reasons for Congress's massive loss could have been the treatment meted out to him by the party.
"People were asking me why I was sidelined by the party, despite the fact that I gave a stable government for five years," said Kamat, who was virtually missing from the Congress's electoral campaign.
The NCP, which had three legislators in the 11th Goa legislative assembly failed to win a single seat this time, while the Trinamool Congress, which made an electoral debut also failed to make an impression with its state president Wilfred de Souza, who was contesting from Aldona constituency, winning only 600-plus votes.
Independent candidates have said they would back the victorious coalition.
Several top leaders of the Congress, including two chief ministers Churchill Alemao and Ravi Naik lost the elections, along with six other cabinet ministers who were contesting on Congress-NCP alliance tickets.
Nearly half of the 40 legislators elected to the 12th Goa legislative assembly will be newcomers, with 19 contestants making their legislative debut.
Illegal mining, corruption, medium of instruction issue and tickets being given to kin of sitting legislators were some of the key issues during the run-up to the polls on March 3.
The Congress-led coalition government had faced allegations of large scale corruption, pandering to the illegal mining lobby, nepotism and malgovernance in the five years during which its government was in power since 2007.
Congress set for hat-trick in Manipur
Imphal, March 6 (PTI) : Manipur's ruling Congress appeared set for a hat-trick in the state, winning 16 seats in the assembly elections till 12.30 p.m., with the other parties far behind.
Results were declared for 23 seats of the 60 assembly constituencies in Manipur till 12.30 p.m. Tuesday, The Congress has won 16 seats so far, state election officials said.
The Trinamool Congress has won three seats, followed by the Naga Peoples' Front (NFP) which won two seats. The Manipur State Congress party (MSCP) and Lok Janshakti Party followed the tally by securing one seat each.
Okram Ibobi Singh seems poised to be the second chief minister in the northeast to make it to the top seat for the third consecutive time in recent times after Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
While Gogoi took the party to power in Assam in 2001, 2006 and 2011, Ibobi Singh single-handedly brought the Congress to power in Manipur in 2002 and in 2007.
Congress spokesman in Manipur N. Biren Singh, who has won from Heingang constituency, said the Congress is going to form the next government in the state. "We are going to win not less than 35 seats this time," he said.
The Congress had a tough battle this time as at least 11 non-Congress parties have formed an alliance to stop the Congress from coming to power. The non-Congress parties include the NCP, Manipur People's Party (MPP), CPI, CPI-M, JD-U, National People's Party (NPP), Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP), Trinamool Congress, Lok Jana Shakti Party, BJP and the Naga People's Front (NPF).
What had made it worse for the Congress is the fact that at least seven militant outfits of the state imposed a ban on the party. The militants also attacked several Congress candidates and supporters ahead of the Jan 28 polls.
Counting Begins in Five States
Trends (leads only)
Goa
Total seats - 40
BJP - 25
Congress - 8
Others - 5
Uttar Pradesh
Total Seats - 403
SP - 216
BSP - 87
BJP - 46
Cong - 41
Others - 13
Punjab
Total Seats - 117
Akali - 67
Cong - 47
Bjp - 12
PPP - 0
Others - 3
Uttarakhand
Total Seats - 70
Cong - 33
BJP - 30
BSP - 3
SP - 0
Others - 4
Manipur
Total Seats - 60
Cong - 42
PDF - 1
BJP - 0
TMC - 7
Others - 9