BJP GAINS, DIDI & AMMA REGAIN
SAFFRON SUNRISE BJP sweeps three-term chief minister Gogoi away to make a grand debut in Assam WOMAN POWER Mamata consolidates epic 2011 victory with even more seats, Jaya keeps DMK at bay RETURN OF THE RED Left Democratic Front gets decisive mandate afte
NEW DELHI: The BJP made stunning inroads into the Northeast, wresting power from the Congress in Assam for the first time on Thursday, riding an anti-incumbency wave that two powerful women chief ministers, Mamata Banerjee and J Jayalalithaa, overcame in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
The Congress’ electoral downslide continued as its scandal-tainted coalition government lost to the Left in Kerala. The party, which has lost six state elections since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, however, picked up a consolation prize of sorts in Puducherry by defeating the regional All India NR Congress (AINRC).
The Left’s poor showing in West Bengal took the shine off its victory in Kerala. Despite stitching up an unprecedented alliance with rival Congress, it was made to bite the dust in the state and was reduced to a poor third.
Banerjee’s charisma saw her ruling Trinamool Congress notching up a nearly threefourths majority in a house of 294, despite a campaign rocked by allegations of corruption by party leaders.
The BJP was the biggest winner of the day as it also picked up its first assembly seat in Kerala and several in West Bengal.
In Assam, a credible local face in Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, strategic alliances with local outfits and a tempered Hindutva agenda that exploited local fears of being swamped by illegal immigrants proved a successful recipe for the party.
““The poll results have demonstrated that the BJP’s ideology of development and its tireless efforts to bring about change in the lives of common masses are being well accepted and supported by the people,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
Banerjee savoured her victory by coming down hard on her rivals.
“The BJP is a divisive force. The Congress knows how to lose friends,” she said while talking about how she enjoys good equations with leaders such as her Delhi and Bihar counterparts, Arvind Kejriwal and Nitish Kumar, respectively.
Jayalalithaa, the first Tamil Nadu chief minister to be reelected in three decades, spoke about how all parties were against her: “I believed in God and had associated myself with the people,” she said.
The country is two steps closer to creating a Congress-mukt Bharat. The verdict is a lesson for the Congress for its obstructionist politics in Parliament. AMIT SHAH, BJP president