New Delhi, May 16 (ANI): VK Malhotra, leader of India's main opposition party Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has said that the party has nothing to lose if it does not win seats in the national capital. Malhotra, Addressing newsperson at the BJP headquarter in New Delhi, remarked that the party was hoping for an improved show in the capital, but then it did not have much to lose.
News video: Congress party and its allies celebrate victory
New Delhi/ Chennai, May 16 (ANI): Ruling Congress party and its allies across India are celebrating as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition appeared to be heading for a second term in office after a clear victory in the general election. Congress party leaders expressed joy and gaiety on the success of the party while talking to reporters in national capital New Delhi.
News Videos: BJP concedes election defeat
New Delhi, May 16 (ANI): India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party conceded defeat in the general elections on Saturday. Party spokesperson, Arun Jaitley said, the ruling Congress party-led alliance had the biggest mandate after the general election. Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress-led coalition, riding on the back of years of economic growth, did better than expected and will probably be only just short of an outright majority.
Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress-led coalition, riding on the back of years of economic growth, did better than expected and will probably be only just short of an outright majority.
News: Singh is king! Kingmakers are out...
New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) Kingmakers are out. There is only one king in this election. And that's Manmohan Singh, the prime ministerial candidate of the Congress-led UPA (United Progressive Alliance) that won with a decisive margin, belying predictions of a hung parliament.
At least half-a-dozen regional satraps who were harbouring prime ministerial ambitions and were itching to play kingmakers are now out in the cold.
Contrary to the pre-poll scenario, when both the Congress and the BJP were assiduously courting them in search of the elusive 272 halfway mark in parliament, the market value of the so-called kingmakers has dipped dramatically.
Almost all exit polls predicted a photo finish contest between the two leading political formations, fuelling ambitions of those who were bracing to drive hard political bargains.
Not sure of the numbers, a timorous Congress was courting Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Nitish Kumar despite his insistence that he was firmly in the NDA camp. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, AIADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa, Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik were among those the Congress was eyeing and had sent emissaries to woo.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi even went to the extent of praising Nitish Kumar and Naidu as examples of good leaders outside the UPA fold - widely seen as overtures to the two who have carved their careers around anti-Congress politics.
The BJP, which was hoping to emerge at the head of the largest pre-poll alliance, too, unleashed a charm offensive. Senior BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu flew to Hyderabad to forge equations with Naidu, a former NDA ally. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi rushed to Chennai to say it with flowers to Jayalalithaa, who was already declaring price for her support: the dismissal of the M. Karunanidhi government.
Others were broadcasting their wish list for potential suitors.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's ambitions transcended mere deal-making as she fancied herself as a dark horse who could walk away with the prime ministerial trophy if her Third Front allies manage to get more than 100 seats. She was banking on her friend, Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Prakash Karat, who repeatedly said the Left Front would work to install a non-Congress, non-BJP government at the centre.
And Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav went around saying unabashedly that his party's support would be for any alliance that would dismiss his bete noire Mayawati's government.
Now the long and twisted wish list of potential kingmakers lie in tatters as they wake up to the post-poll reality. The numbers, on which they were shoring up their dreams, are not simply not with them this time round.
Source: yahoo
News: Modi fails to weave magic beyond Gujarat
AHMEDABAD: The Modi magic had to face boundary lines in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. The Hindutva poster boy and BJP’s star campaigner Narendra
Modi could get his party a near sweep in his home state, Gujarat, but failed in Maharashtra for which he was the in-charge. In Gujarat, the BJP is leading in 16 out of 26 seats, while in Maharashtra it could manage just about nine seats.
Modi failed not just in the 48-seat strong Maharashtra, but also in other states like Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Orissa and Tamil Nadu, the states where he campaigned extensively, holding close to 300 meeting over 40 days. The BJP and its allies have lagged the UPA alliance in most of these states. The party’s performance could deal a major dent to the saffron leader, who had put the Godhra ghosts behind and was touted as the party’s next prime ministerial candidate.
The Gujarat chief minister always led his party to stunning victories in Gujarat, the latest being the 2007 Gujarat assembly election. The party’s defeat in Maharashtra could very well be Modi’s first personal setback since he became the chief minister in 2001.
While in Rajasthan, the party is barely leading on 4 seats against 20 set to be bagged by the Congress, in Maharashtra, the BJP is leading in only 9 seats against Congress’s 16 seats. While in Tamil Nadu, the BJP could win just one seat, in Punjab it managed a lead in 6 seats as against none in Haryana. In UP, it fared comparatively better with 11 seats.
Modi failed not just in the 48-seat strong Maharashtra, but also in other states like Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Orissa and Tamil Nadu, the states where he campaigned extensively, holding close to 300 meeting over 40 days. The BJP and its allies have lagged the UPA alliance in most of these states. The party’s performance could deal a major dent to the saffron leader, who had put the Godhra ghosts behind and was touted as the party’s next prime ministerial candidate.
The Gujarat chief minister always led his party to stunning victories in Gujarat, the latest being the 2007 Gujarat assembly election. The party’s defeat in Maharashtra could very well be Modi’s first personal setback since he became the chief minister in 2001.
While in Rajasthan, the party is barely leading on 4 seats against 20 set to be bagged by the Congress, in Maharashtra, the BJP is leading in only 9 seats against Congress’s 16 seats. While in Tamil Nadu, the BJP could win just one seat, in Punjab it managed a lead in 6 seats as against none in Haryana. In UP, it fared comparatively better with 11 seats.
Source: timesofindia
News : Delhi shows the way for India
NEW DELHI: As capital cities go, Delhi doesn't just lead the way in social and economic development, it also mirrors who is worthy of ruling
the country.
Since the first elections in 1952, the party that won Delhi's heart has invariably ruled the country.
In 1952, Delhi had only four Lok Sabha constituencies and the Congress bagged all of them and also formed the government at the Centre that year.
This sweep continued in 1957 and 1962 too when the seats were increased to five.
In 1967, Delhi had seven Lok Sabha seats of which the Congress retained only one. Though the Congress formed the government at the centre, it was the first time that it faced a significant opposition in Parliament.
In 1971, Congress again bagged all seven seats in Delhi and retained power at the Centre.
Six years later, Congress lost all seven seats to the then Janata Party due to the anti-emergency wave and for the first time a non-Congress government headed by Morarji Desai was formed at the centre in 1977.
However, in 1980 Congress snatched back six seats and also managed to secure a term in office at the Centre.
In 1984, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Congress again swept all the seven seats and Rajiv Gandhi became the prime minister.
Five years later, Bofors scam dominated the political scene and Congress could win only two seats and lost five to BJP in 1989. A non-Congress government headed by V P Singh came to power at Delhi.
Again in 1991, Congress managed to get only two seats - Sadar and Outer Delhi. But this time, however, Congress' Narasimha Rao formed a minority government.
In 1996, Congress failed to improve its position and got only two seats, losing five to BJP and the power to rule.
In 1998, Congress fared even worse. Meira Kumar was the sole Congress winner from Karol Bagh and the six other seats were captured by the BJP, whose leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee formed the government and the Congress warmed opposition benches in the lower house of Parliament.
In 1999, BJP swept all seven seats in Delhi and remained in power at the Centre.
Congress under Sonia Gandhi bagged six seats in the capital in the 14th Lok Sabha elections in 2004, ending an eight-year drought of power.
The Congress-led UPA is all set to form the government this year, but there are no marks for guessing why.
Source: times of india
News: Everyone counts today
New Delhi:
On the eve of counting, the CPM categorically ruled out supporting the Congress directly or indirectly, quashing all talk of the Left allowing a minority government led by the Congress.
CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said there was no possibility of the Left supporting the Congress in any way. “If it is a minority government issue, then the Congress should support a Third Front government,” he told The Indian Express Friday. All the post-exit poll speculation on the Congress’s hunt for 272 revolves around what the Left and the Third Front will do.
CPM sources said the issue of backing a Congress-led minority government hasn’t been discussed yet.
The Left does not anticipate a repeat of 2004 when it was forced to support the Congress to keep the BJP out. The CPM has enlisted the support of Mayawati for a Third Front government. The BSP chief, it is learnt, will attend the May 18 meeting of the Front here.
Karat met BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra Friday. “We are with the Left and will remain so. In the coming months, you will see that. And wherever the Left will go, we are with them,” Mishra said afterwards.
The CPM, it is learnt, has also opened a channel with the NCP. Karat has been in touch with BJD chief Naveen Patnaik, TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu, and JD(S)’s H D Deve Gowda to keep the Third Front together after May 16. The Left is, however, wary of Jayalalithaa’s moves.
Source: Indianexpress
News: Congress leading in 17 Andhra Pradesh Assembly seats
Hyderabad (PTI): Congress is leading in 17 Assembly seats, TDP in 14, PRP 3, TRS in 2, Independents 2 and CPI 1 after two-and-half hours of counting in Andhra Pradesh.
Among the key contestants Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, N Chandrababu Naidu and cine actor turned politician Chiranjeevi are leading with comfortable margins, CEO office sources said.
The Chief Minister's son Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is contesting Kaddapah Parliament constituency, is also leading, according to trends available.
News: Manmohan Singh set to equal Vajpayee's record
NEW DELHI: If Atal Bihari Vajpayee can do, Manmohan Singh too can!
Singh, 76, is set to even Vajpayee's feat of becoming Prime Minister for two consecutive terms with the Congress-led UPA emerging ahead in early trends.
The alliance was projected to get 242-250 seats, just 20-30 short of majority in the lower house of Parliament.
In 1999, Vajpayee made a spectacular return to power, becoming the first leader to do so since the 1970s.
As counting of votes polled in Lok Sabha elections progressed, the answer was increasingly becoming clear that Singh, who in 2004 was unexpectedly named Prime Minister, was all set to reprise the role.
The 76-year-old leader is the first person to be projected as PM candidate by the Congress which has lorded over the affairs of the country for 50 years of the six decades that India has been independent.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi and party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi had thrown their weight behind his candidature and have often declared that the issue is "non-negotiable".
If Singh becomes the Prime Minister again, he will also be the first Congress Prime Minister outside the Gandhi-Nehru family to do so and that too while heading a coalition government.
After the Janata Party experiment in 1977 which saw two Prime Ministers Moraraji Desai and Charan Singh, Indira Gandhi came to power in 1980. After her assassination in October 1984, Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister following a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha polls.
He could not repeat the magic in 1989 and chose to sit in the opposition despite the Congress emerging as the single largest party.
Since then getting a majority in Parliament has virtually proved to be a mirage for political parties.
While V P Singh was in the PM's chair for eleven months after the 1989 polls, Chandrashekhar who sprang a surprise on him lasted just four months.
P V Narasimha Rao completed a full term from 1991 to 1996 while Atal Bihari Vajpayee who followed him lasted just a few days with his government being dubbed as "thirteen day wonder" by opposition Congress.
H D Deve Gowda was then at the helm for 11 months and I K Gujral for four months. Then in 1998 and 1999 it was Vajpayee while Manmohan Singh caused an upset in 2004.
Singh joined politics at the insistence of P V Narasimha Rao in 1991, when he joined Rao's government as Finance Minister and became the architect of the economic reforms process. While Rao failed to return to power, Singh has bettered his mentor.
Source: indiatimes
News: Congress springing big surprise in Uttar Pradesh
LUCKNOW: Surprising everyone but its staunch supporters, the Congress - powered by some indefatigable campaigning by Rahul Gandhi - appeared
headed for its biggest comeback in Uttar Pradesh, the state that sends the maximum of 80 MPs, with trends indicating a huge leap for the country's ruling party.
After three hours of counting, Congress was leading in over 20 seats, Samajwadi Party was also leading in 20 seats, the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), that had proclaimed its potential of winning 40 to 50 seats, was leading in 21 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trailing behind with leads in only 15 seats. Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) was ahead on just two seats so far, with he himself trailing.
That the voters of Uttar Pradesh appeared to be veering towards national parties was visible in the early leads taken by both the Congress as well as the BJP in comparison to their showing in the 2004 elections. While Congress had won only nine seats then, the BJP's tally too stood at a paltry 10.
While gains for the BJP had been predicted by most poll analysts, not many were willing to accept the existence of a Congress undercurrent in several parts of Uttar Pradesh, where it had been out of power for two long decades. This Lok Sabha election appears to have brought the party on a revival path in this state, where it held sway for the first four decades after independence.
While the top leaders of all other parties were camping in New Delhi, BSP supremo and Chief Minister Mayawati preferred to keep herself confined within her official residence in Lucknow's Kalidas Marg, accessible only to a handful members of her inner coterie.
According to some insiders, Mayawati was looking quite grim and worried over the party's performance. The BSP was the only party to have contested all the 543 seats across the country, but apart from the state, its leads were limited to one seat each in Himachal Pradesh Madhya Pradesh.
After three hours of counting, Congress was leading in over 20 seats, Samajwadi Party was also leading in 20 seats, the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), that had proclaimed its potential of winning 40 to 50 seats, was leading in 21 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trailing behind with leads in only 15 seats. Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) was ahead on just two seats so far, with he himself trailing.
That the voters of Uttar Pradesh appeared to be veering towards national parties was visible in the early leads taken by both the Congress as well as the BJP in comparison to their showing in the 2004 elections. While Congress had won only nine seats then, the BJP's tally too stood at a paltry 10.
While gains for the BJP had been predicted by most poll analysts, not many were willing to accept the existence of a Congress undercurrent in several parts of Uttar Pradesh, where it had been out of power for two long decades. This Lok Sabha election appears to have brought the party on a revival path in this state, where it held sway for the first four decades after independence.
While the top leaders of all other parties were camping in New Delhi, BSP supremo and Chief Minister Mayawati preferred to keep herself confined within her official residence in Lucknow's Kalidas Marg, accessible only to a handful members of her inner coterie.
According to some insiders, Mayawati was looking quite grim and worried over the party's performance. The BSP was the only party to have contested all the 543 seats across the country, but apart from the state, its leads were limited to one seat each in Himachal Pradesh Madhya Pradesh.
Source: Indiantimes
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