Search:



The Web

Rediff








Home > Assembly Elections > Report

BJP wins 'semis' 3-1, stumps pollsters

rediff.com Newsdesk | December 04, 2003 18:00 IST
Last Updated: December 05, 2003 06:04 IST


In the end, the score was 3-1 in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and with a year to go before the general election, this was exactly the result that the party was looking for.

It wrested three major states from the Congress -- Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. For the Congress, the only saving grace was Delhi, where Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit comfortably beat the challenge posed by the BJP's Madan Lal Khurana. The final tally here was Congress 47, BJP 20 and others 3.Sheila Dixit

For the saffron party the overall result was unexpected. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said as much. "We didn't expect this. We thought it would be two-two," he said before leaving for Abuja, Nigeria.

Digvijay SinghThe big news of the day was Madhya Pradesh, where Chief Minister Digvijay Singh's 10-year reign came to a crashing end. In fact, so dramatic was the fall that by 1000 IST, just two hours after counting started, Singh conceded defeat. He told Doordarshan News that he was "disappointed and surprised" by the results. He said he would keep his promise of not taking any organisational post or fighting elections for 10 years.

The BJP won 172 seats in the 230-member legislative assembly. The ruling Congress, which had 124 seats in the last assembly, had won only 39. The others accounted for 19 seats.

In Rajasthan it was a similar story. When trends were coming in, the BJP's chief ministerial candidate, Vasundhara Raje, was asked if the party would need the support of smaller parties to form government. Her reply was prophetic: "I don't think there will be a photo-finish."Vasundhara Raje

The BJP won 119 of the 200 seats; the Congress got 57 and other parties bagged 24. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot followed his MP counterpart and said his party would provide meaningful opposition.

The setback in Chhattisgarh was the final nail in the coffin. With the BJP's chief ministerial aspirant Dilip Singh Judeo embroiled in a bribery scandal, it seemed that the Congress would have the upper hand. But once the results began emerging, Chief Minister Ajit Jogi shut himself inside his official residence, perhaps unable to comprehend the turnaround.

At 2130 hours results for 89 out of 90 seats had been declared. The BJP had bagged 50, Congress 36, Bahujan Samaj Party 2, Nationalist Congress Party 1. The result of Bijapur seat was yet to be declared.

Everyone wanted to know what the BJP's next move would be; whether it would call for snap polls to the Lok Sabha.

No, said Vajpayee. "Still one year left"

Asked by a satellite channel what Vajpayee meant when, on Wednesday, he asked BJP members of Parliament to start preparing for the general election, BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan explained: "These victories came after a year of preparation. Similar is the case with the Lok Sabha election. That is what Vajpayeeji meant."

Before leaving for Nigeria, the prime minister had called a meeting at his 7, Race Course residence to review the party's performance. Among those present were Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu and Mahajan.

After the meeting, Naidu said the issue of snap polls was not even discussed. But he sought to link the victories with the National Democratic Alliance's performance under Vajpayee's leadership. "The victories in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattishgarh are an endorsement of the NDA's policies."

Whatever be the case, the BJP can cheer now. As for the Congress, all it can do now is get back to the drawing board and, in the words of its leaders, "assess where we went wrong."


Article Tools
Email this article
Print this article
Write us a letter



Related Stories


Vajpayee reviews BJP performance

PM rules out early LS polls

Cong innings over, says Advani



People Who Read This Also Read


A royal win for BJP in Rajasthan

BJP has majority in Chhattisgarh

Ajit Jogi still in a daze











Share your comments


 What do you think about the story?




Read what others have to say:


Number of User Comments: 9




Sub: BJP Win

BJP win can be attributed to the renunciation of commuanl politics. People have accepted a team that promise development. People want basic necessities like clean ...


Posted by Aboobakar Panoor





Sub: if only...

This victory would be meaningful for the BJP, if only they learn from the earlier defeats and close calls. I definitely look forward to BJP ...


Posted by Divya Sharma





Sub: Finals is for congress...

Indian as people to extent see's regional issues and other local issues. There is always a Anti-incrumbency factor in any case,People always try for a ...


Posted by sabir





Sub: elections in 4 states

The Cobngress party under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi has failed. The members infighting and lackless leadership has brought this situation, and it is warning ...


Posted by Madhukar Tagare





Sub: Women power?

The goras is the West do not mince words when talking about Indian bias for men. However, while USA still awaits its first woman president, ...


Posted by Tushar




Disclaimer







Copyright © 2003 rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved.