* Assam victory phenomenal: PM
NEW DELHI, May 19:
Scripting history, the BJP today stormed to power in Assam bagging a government in the north east for the first time dethroning Congress which also lost Kerala while Jayalalithaa and Mamata Banerjee retained power in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal with spectacular victories.
The Congress could take solace only in Puducherry where it managed to get a simple majority along with DMK to wrest power from AINRC headed by N Rangaswami, a former Congressman.
The results of the assembly elections saw the end of Congress rule in Assam where it had scored a hat-trick in the last elections under Tarun Gogoi.
With Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal as its Chief Ministerial face, the BJP and its allies AGP and Bodo People’s Front scored a landslide victory.
In the 126-member Assam Assembly, BJP won 24 seats and was leading in 38 (total 62), AGP won 6 and was leading in 8 (total 14) and BPF won 7 and was leading in 4 seats (total 11). The BJP last time had just 5 seats while the AGP had 10 and BPF had 12.
The Congress, which had secured 78 seats in the last elections, was today victorious in 10 seats and was leading in 14 (total 24). The AIUDF, led by Badrudin Ajmal, won 3 seats and was ahead in 10 (total 13).
In neighbouring West Bengal, Trinamool Congress headed by Mamata Banerjee was set to secure a two-thirds majority, fighting it alone against the Left-Congress combine.
Bettering its performance over the 2011 elections, Trinamool Congress, which had then contested in alliance with Congress and won 184 seats in the 294-member Assembly, has now won 98 seats and leading in 113 (total 211).
The Congress, which had last time got 42, improved a bit by securing three more seats this time. It was already declared winner in 14 seats and was leading in 31.
Its ally CPI(M) registered a big slide as it got only 26 seats against 40 it had last time. The party was declared winner in 9 seats and was leading in 17. CPI(M) allies CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP were ahead in 5 seats. Forward Bloc has already won one seat.
Tamil Nadu defied its 32-year-old tradition and belied several exit poll predictions by handing a handsome victory to the ruling AIADMK led by charismatic Jayalalithaa.
Facing a tough opponent in DMK-Congress alliance, AIADMK slipped on its past performance as it won 37 seats and was ahead in 96 seats (total 133 seats), 17 less than last time. However, it is for the first time since 1984 that a ruling party has been voted back to power in the state.
DMK, headed by 91-year-old M Karunanidhi, put up a strong fight and was set to win 88 seats, which itself will be a first of sorts in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly where the opposition will be in big numbers. The party has been declared winner in 25 seats and was leading in 65.
Its ally Congress has won 2 and was leading in 6. Another ally IUML has won one seat.
The PMK, which contested all the seats, was leading only in one constituency while the third front headed by actor Vijaykanth drew a blank.
Kerala kept with its tradition as it voted out Congress-led UDF and handed over reins of power to the Left Democratic Front.
The CPI(M)-led front cruised to a comfortable majority by inflicting a massive drubbing to the ruling UDF in the polls which also saw BJP scripting history by opening its account in the state assembly.
The LDF won 91 of the 140 assembly seats at stake. While the LDF won 85 seats on its own, 6 independents supported by it also won.
93-year-old V S Achutanandan, the face of the LDF campaign and CPI(M) polit bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan, Thomas Issac, E P Jayarajan and actor Mukesh are among prominent winners in the LDF.
BJP’s leader and former Union minister O Rajagopal won from Nemom by defeating CPI(M) MLA V Sivankutty by a margin of 8,671 votes.
In Puducherry, Congress-DMK alliance got a consolation win of sorts as it secured a simple majority with 17 seats in the 30-member assembly of the tiny union territory.
Congress avenged its defeat in the 2011 elections at the hands of AINRC founder N Rangasamy, who broke away from the national party to form his outfit and rode it to power, as the ruling party fell by the wayside bagging just eight seats.
Congress which contested 21 seats won in 15 seats. DMK emerged successful in two seats, giving the combine a clear majority as it bucked initial trends of a close fight with the AINRC. AIADMK, which contested the elections on its own, won four seats.
Adding to the owes of Congress in in Assam and Kerala assembly elections, the party suffered reverses in bypolls in Gujarat and Telangana as its candidates failed to retain a seat each in the two states and forfeiting deposits in both the seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Congress lost Tura Lok Sabha byelections in Meghalaya by the biggest margin in its history in the state and failed to win in 13 of the 14 assembly segments held by partymen.
In Gujarat, BJP wrested the Talala Assembly seat in Gir-Somnath district as its candidate Govind Parmar defeated his Congress rival Bhagwanji Barad by over 2,440 votes.The seat was earlier held by Congress.
The by-election was necessitated after Jasu Barad, the Congress MLA from the constituency, passed away in January.
In Telangana, ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti unseated Congress in Palair constituency in Khammam district with its candidate Tummala Nageswara Rao, Roads and Buildings Minister, winning by a margin of 45,682 votes against Congress nominee
Sucharita Reddy, wife of PCC leader Ramreddy Venkat Reddy whose death necessitated the bypoll.
Sucharita Reddy was supported by TDP and YSRCP.
Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Samajwadi Party retained both Jangipur and Bilari assembly seats defeating nearest BJP challengers.
In Bilari, SP candidate Mohammad Fahim won the election by a margin of 7,063 votes against his nearest rival Suresh Saini of BJP and in Jangipur (Ghazipur) seat, SP candidate Kismati Devi defeated her nearest rival Ramesh Singh of BJP by 22,092 votes.
Congress nominees in the two seats forefeited their security deposits while BSP did not contest the bypolls.
Jangipur fell vacant when sitting MLA and cabinet minister Kailash Yadav died in February while bypoll in Bilari was necessitated following the death of 64-year-old Haji Irfan in a road accident on March 10.
In Meghalaya, Conrad K Sangma, son of former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma, won the Tura Lok Sabha by-election by a huge margin of nearly two lakh votes to retain the seat held by his late father for over four decades.
Conrad’s lone rival and Chief Minister Mukul Sangma’s wife Dikkanchi D Shira lost by over 1.92 lakh votes, the biggest margin by which Congress has ever lost in the parliamentary elections in the state.
Conrad took over the reins of National People’s Party (NPP) following the demise of his father earlier this year.
So overwhelming was Congress’s defeat in Tura is that its candidate lost in 23 out of 24 Assembly segments, including 13 of the 14 segments represented by Congress legislators.
Conrad’s victory was also celebrated by members of its main ally BJP and other regional parties.
Several BJP leaders had toured the Garo Hills campaigning for Conrad ahead of the May 16 bypolls.
However, in Jharkhand, BJP and Congress retained the Godda and Panki Assembly seats respectively.
BJP’s Amit Mandal defeated RJD’s Sanjay Yadav by 34,551 votes from the Godda seat.
From Panki, Congress’ Devendra Kumar Singh defeated JMM candidate Kushwaha Shashibhusan Mehta by 3,558 votes, Returning Officer Albert Bilung said.
Meanwhile, as BJP made debut in north east, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed the Assam victory as “historic” and “phenomenal” and said the mandate reflects growing popular support for the party’s ideology of development and effort to transform the lives of people
An elated Modi said the mandate would provide new energy to BJP to further work for the upliftment of common masses.
With regard to Assam, he said the party will do everything possible to fulfil the dreams and aspirations of the people of the state and take its development journey to new heights.
He also lauded the efforts of BJP workers in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, saying they put up a “spirited performance”.
“Across India, people are placing their faith in BJP and see it as the party that can usher in all-round and inclusive development,” Modi tweeted.
“Heartiest congratulations to Assam BJP Karyakartas & leaders for the exceptional win. This win is historic by all standards. Phenomenal!”
Congratulating BJP’s Chief Ministerial candidate Sarbanand Sonwal, the Prime Minister said, “BJP will do everything possible to fulfil dreams & aspirations of the people of Assam & take the state’s development journey to new heights.”
Later, while addressing BJP workers at party headquarters, he said the poll victory in Assam has made it clear that BJP is rapidly receiving “popular acceptance” in all parts of the country which “augurs well” for the democracy.
He compared the mandate in Assam to the one received in Jammu and Kashmir and said it would have “surprised” many.
Extending heartfelt gratitude to voters, he said the poll results are “very encouraging” for BJP and NDA.
“The voters have enhanced faith in BJP. Formation of BJP Government in Assam is equally surprising for some people as was the party’s participation in Government in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The poll results have demonstrated that BJP’s ideology of development and its tireless efforts to bring about a change in the lives of common masses is being well accepted and supported by the people,” he said.
Amid chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ by the party workers, he said, “BJP is rapidly receiving popular acceptance in all regions of India which augurs well for the democracy… This public support would give us more energy and encouragement.”
Modi said “all of us” would together make efforts to bring about the change in the lives of common masses.
“I am also extremely pleased with the performance of the BJP & our allies in various by-polls held across India,” the Prime Minister said in a tweet.
Lauding the efforts of BJP workers in West Bengal for putting up a “spirited performance”, he said they will continue to raise people’s issues there.
“In Kerala, the persistence of the party has paid off today & we will become an even stronger voice of the people,” Modi said.
“I salute all those who built the BJP in Kerala, brick by brick, decade after decade. It is due to them that we are seeing this day,” he added.
“I thank the people of Assam, WB, TN, Puducherry & Kerala for their support & assure them we will always work hard & serve them,” he said in another tweet.
In his brief speech at the BJP headquarters, Modi thanked party chief Amit Shah and his team as well as party units in the five states — Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry — for working tirelessly.
He also thanked voters for turning out in large numbers and participating in the electoral process peacefully, except some incidents of violence. (PTI)
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