BJP scripts history in Assam; Left wins Kerala; Jaya, Mamata retain power

www.mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, May 19, 2016: 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.