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JD(U)-BJP end Laloo’s hegemony over Bihar NEW DELHI, Oct 10: The last minute unification of anti-Laloo....more
NEW DELHI, Oct 10: The Congress electoral debacle has......more
Congress will fix responsibility for poll debacle: Vyas JAIPUR, Oct 10: Rajasthan Congress president Girija....more 5.58 per cent swing more than trebles BJP seats in Rajasthan JAIPUR, Oct 10: A 5.58 per cent swing of votes in its...more |
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Delhi CM opposes NEW DELHI, Oct 10: Strongly opposing any move for ...more BJP
makes inroads GUWAHATI, Oct 10: The BJP in Assam has made ....more
PMs find it difficult to garner electorate support NEW DELHI, Oct 10: They were the mascot of their parties .....more BJP performance in LS polls marked with paradox NEW DELHI, Oct 10: It has been a paradox for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. ...more |
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JD(U)-BJP end Laloo’s hegemony over Bihar NEW DELHI, Oct 10: The last minute unification of anti-Laloo socialists under the nascent banner of the Janata Dal (United) and its strategic alliance with BJP helped break a decade of Rashtriya Janata Dal president Laloo Prasad Yadav’s hegemony over Bihar and hand him a shock defeat. Yadav, who has weathered many storms, received the biggest setback in his political career after being trounced on his home turf Madhepura by ertswhile comrade-in-arms JD(U) president Sharad Yadav. Castigated for ‘jungle raj’ and maladministration in the state, the ruling RJD’s tally of seats nosedived from 17 to just seven — a net loss of 40 per cent. A PTI computer analysis shows that of the seven seats it bagged, it retained two and wrested five. Janata Dal(U) derived the maximum benefit from RJD’s losses, picking up 10 seats, while BJP won five. Cashing in on a strong organisational base and anti-Laloo sentiments, BJP, riding the ‘Vajpayee wave’, swept the Vananchal region winning 11 of the 13 seats. However, BJP lost Koderma and Chatra to Congress and RJD respectively. The combine also pulled off a spectacular performance in the South and Central parts of the state. Congress was hamstrung because of its decision to bail out the Rabri Devi Government when Presidents’ Rule was clamped and its tie-up with RJD. Congress, which had polled 7.27 per cent votes in 1998 winning five seats, suffered a net loss of two seats. It also failed to retain four seats it had won last time, though making two fresh gains. Of the two, Congress snatched Aurangabad from JD(U). Congress spokesman Kapil Sibal has said that the party had to pay heavily for its alliance with Laloo Prasad-led RJD in Bihar. He also indicated reconsideration of its pact with RJD. Agey humey phir dekhna hoga (we have to look at it once again), Sibal had said on a Star TV programme. The JD(U)-BJP combine’s resounding victory could be attributed to the decisive caste alliance struck with the coming together of George Fernandes-led Samata Party and state unit of JD, led by popular dalit leader Ramvilas Paswan. It helped in boosting the voteshare, upsetting the RJD apple-cart. Popular Kurmi leader and former Railway Minister Nitish Kumar of Samata Party, braving initial trends, registered victory against Vijay Krishna (RJD) by 1,338 votes. Kumar, known for his close proximity to Fernandes, had won the seat in 1998 polls by 15,170 votes. (PTI) |
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NEW DELHI, Oct 10: The Congress electoral debacle has claimed its first victim with senior leader Pranab Mukherjee resigning from the post of general secretary owning moral responsibility for the party’s rout in Haryana in the Lok Sabha elections. Mukherjee, who was in charge of Haryana in the AICC, tendered his resignation to party president Sonia Ganghi on October seven. Accepting responsibility for the defeat, he told reporters today that it was an error of judgment on his part to have taken the decision to support the Bansi Lal Government and later to withdraw it. He said this was one of the major reasons for the party faring badly in the elections. Asked whether he foresaw any major changes in the the Congress Working Committee of which he is an elected member, Mukherjee said the party president has already been given a free hand to revamp the body by the AICC. At any moment, it can be done, he added. Mukherjee brushed aside demands for generational changes raised by Kamal Nath. He said a large number of young people like Ashok Gehlot, Digvijay Singh, Giridhar Gamang and many others are already occupying top slots in various states. Even in the CWC, there are a number of young members, he said adding some people were just trying to gun for someone by raising the issue without going into the factual position. (PTI) |
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Congress will fix responsibility for poll debacle: Vyas JAIPUR, Oct 10: Rajasthan Congress president Girija Vyas has said the party would fix responsibility for the debacle in the Lok Sabha election in the state, where it got a big joit by losing 11 seats to rival BJP. Responsibility would be fixed on party members, who were negligent, after analysing the poor performance of Congress, she told reporters yesterday on her return from Delhi. The newly-elected MP said the party had learnt a lesson and added it was high time for the leaders to go to people and their respective constituencies to find out the reasons behind the defeat. In reply to queries, Vyas said she and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot would interact with the party’s senior and block-level leaders to ascertain the reasons of the debacle. It is not the proper time for accusing or trading allegations against each other in the party for the poll outcome but (we have) to find out the reasons for the set back and take appropriate remedial measures to prevent such poor results in the future, she said. Vyas said she had already briefed party president Sonia Gandhi about the poll out come in the state. (PTI) |
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Delhi CM opposes ‘knee jerk’ changes in Cong heirarchy NEW DELHI, Oct 10: Strongly opposing any move for knee jerk changes in the party heirarchy, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has said that Sonia Gandhi continues to be the undisputed leader of Congress. No knee jerk action is needed, although it is time for introspection, Dikshit, who is under attack for the party’s debacle in Delhi, told PTI. The senior Congress leader was fielding questions on murmurs in the party following its worst ever defeat in the Lok Sabha elections and demands for reconstituting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) by inducting young blood. Sonia (Gandhi) is our leader and continues to be so. There is no question of any change, she said. In the elections, Congress on its own could bag only 112 seats, a sharp decline from its previous low of 138 in 1996 and 29 seats less than it held in the 12th Lok Sabha. On talks about bringing in new faces in the organisation, she said It’s all nothing ... All rumours. There is no truth in it. On the stunning reverses Congress had to suffer in Delhi, Dikshit, who led the party to a landslide victory in Assembly polls just about 10 months back, said people’s emotions are very different about Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. I think that is the strength, miracle and charisma of democracy. People take their own decision. During Assembly polls, people wanted a Congress Government in Delhi. This time they wanted BJP at Centre, she said adding Congress also pocketed quite a good number of votes. (PTI) |
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BJP performance in LS polls marked with paradox NEW DELHI, Oct 10: It has been a paradox for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. The party achieved the remarkable feat of leading a coalition back to power for the first time in independent India, but hardly increased its individual tally as the single largest party. Propelled by the Vajpayee factor, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) this time has been able to reach the near 300 mark but the BJP ended up with 182 seats, just one seat more than in last elections. The party, however, has managed to perform a dramatic turnaround in the last one decade. From a mere two seats in the 1984-89 term, it has almost reached the 200 mark. Projecting the electoral battle as one between Atal Behari Vajpayee and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the BJP with its allies could easily shake off the Congress challenge by depicting Vajpayee as the leader in war and peace in the backdrop of Kargil conflict. This election was a different story as regards the BJP as this time even its allies sought votes in the name of Vajpayee, portraying the Prime Minister as the "wronged one" following pulling down of his Government by the opposition led by Congress by just one vote. Uttar Pradesh turned out to be the main reason for failure of the party strategy to increase its numbers substantially in the 13th Lok Sabha as anti-incumbency factor coupled with an allegedly indifferent Chief Minister Kalyan Singh took their toll in the saffron stronghold. In Uttar Pradesh the party had 57 seats in the dissolved Lok Sabha but in spite of the contest becoming four cornered this time due to a resurgent Congress in the state, the BJP could secure 30 seats, nearly half of the earlier strength. BJP strategists, however, are putting the setback in a different perspective saying that the party could make good the loss from Uttar Pradesh from other states was certainly an achievement. Vajpayee himself is seeing the 13th Lok Sabha result in a different way when he said that "for the first time since 1984, a clear majority has been given to a contender". The success has come to the BJP-led NDA way as the saffron party could convince the voter that it has put on hold its pet but controversial issues like Ayodhya, Article 370 and Common Civil Code. A highlight of the results was the clean sweep of BJP in Delhi and a remarkable performance in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where less than a year ago Congress had secured spectacular triumps in Assembly polls. Congress leaders from these states have publicly admitted that people wanted BJP in power at the Centre with Vajpayee factor making all the difference. (PTI) |
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5.58 per cent swing more
than trebles JAIPUR, Oct 10: A 5.58 per cent swing of votes in its favour more than trebeled the Lok Sabha seats for BJP in Rajasthan giving the ruling Congress in the state a rude shock. The tally of BJP rose to 16 this time from just five in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. Although Congress increased its vote percentage by less than one per cent - 0.67 per cent to be precise - it was no match to BJP’s rise and the party’s seat share fell to nine from last year’s 43 529 .3.?34' - Nuta Singh and Sheeshram Ola - who successfully contested against it last year but returned to its fold before the polls this time to retain their seats. The election results are a great morale booster for BJP which suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Congress in the Assembly polls held in November last year when it not only lost power after eight year’s rule but its tally in the Assembly reduced to mere 33 against Congress’ 133 in the 200-member house. But in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections, BJP established lead in as many as 130 Assembly segments while Congress could get lead in only 63 segments. In as many as seven Lok Sabha constituencies, Congress failed to get lead even in one of the 56 Assembly segments falling under them. Congress candidates trailed in Assembly segments of about half of the members of the Council of Ministers. The ruling party trailed by more than 10,000 votes even in the Assembly segment of Sardarpura, represented by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in the Assembly. Congress lost the Jodhpur parliamentary seat, earlier represented by Gehlot since 1980 excepting 1989, by a margin of over 1.12 lakh votes. Congress was almost wiped out from Eastern Rajasthan winning only the Dausa seat from where Congress Working Committee member Rajesh Pilot just scraped through by a margin of 6,902 votes. In Southern Rajasthan it could win three seats - Udaipur, Banswara (ST) and Salumber (ST) - while other seats came from only Western Rajasthan, a traditional Congress bastion. On the other hand, BJP got seats from all parts of the state romping home in four of the six reserved constituencies. Since the elections witnessed a virtual straight fight between Congress and BJP, the vote share of all others fell sharply. Only BSP could increase its vote share by getting 2.76 per cent votes against 2.12 per cent it got in the last Lok Sabha elections. But it was made possible by the fact that Jat Mahasabha leader Vijay Punia contested on BSP symbol from Nagaur finishing second cornering more than 2.18 lakh votes. The vote share of CPI fell from 0.67 per cent in the last elections to 0.42 per cent this time, while CPI-M’s vote share dropped from 1.28 per cent to 0.49 per cent. All the candidates of the two left parties lost their deposits. The elections also saw waning support to independents whose vote share fell from 3.80 per cent to 1.13 per cent. (PTI) |
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