Congress leads in three states, BJP ahead in two

ALL FOR POWER: BJP workers celebrate outside Madhya Pradesh CM's residence in Bhopal on Monday.

ibnlive.com is on mobile now. Read news, watch videos
be a Citizen Journalist. Log on to m.ibnlive.com NOW!

Top Headlines

Top Videos

Most Popular

• I took calculated risks for higher growth: Pranab  

• Udayan's View: Budget 2009, a game of patience 

• A study in comparison: Education budget up Rs 7K cr 

• Face The Budget: Political response to Budget 09-10 

• The verdict: CNN-IBN panelists rate Pranab's Budget  

• Reform hopes dashed, market watchers feel let down  

• I-T exemption limit raised | FBT rolled back | Taxes and you 

• Pranab skips two paras of Budget speech, apologises 

• Bengal benefits, Mamata and Pranab budget for their state 

• Income tax limits raised; farmers, exporters get sops 

• Watch: Dalal Street reacts to the Budget 

• Budget: Pranab's chance to create his own legacy 

• FM has done a fairly good job: Narayana Murthy 

• Budget to focus on social spend, growth 

• Education reform will be for all Indians: Sibal 

• The Budget That Isn't: Cyrus gears up for Budget 

• EVMs are tamper proof, says Election Commission 

• Watch: Railway exams disrupted in Mysore, Banglaore 

• Watch: Maneka writes to PM over threat to Varun's life 

• One-upmanship: Sonia, Pawar in foodgrain politics 

• Life saving drugs, LCDs cheaper; Set-top-box costlier 

• Buy that big car: SUVs, petrol trucks to cost less 

• Defence budget unchanged; Army gets lion's share 

• Minimum Rs 30 lakh needed to be called wealthy 

• TAX BREAKS, WELFARE SCHEMES IN COMMON MAN'S BUDGET 

• Common man gets a treat, over 15 schemes 

• Health budget up by Rs 4,000 cr, 6 new AIIMS in cities 

• Bengal benefits, Mamata and Pranab budget for their state 

• Full text: Union Budget 2009 

• Software industry gets tax benefits for one more yr 

Photogallery

Find us on Facebook | Join IBNLive community

Stay ahead with G-Talk Buddy | Click now!

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday scored a valuable goal ahead of upcoming General Elections by inching towards victory in Rajasthan, Mizoram and Delhi, three of five states where voters picked new assemblies, dealing a blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that, however, scored a grand win in Madhya Pradesh and seemed poised to retain power in nearby Chhattisgarh.

And even as officials continued to count the millions of votes cast in assembly elections which were widely seen as a "semi final" before the Lok Sabha elections due next year, Congress and BJP veterans began to analyse the rights and wrongs of the November 14-December 4 ballot.

The elections took on an added value as terrorists struck in Mumbai slaughtering 172 people from the evening of November 26, casting a shadow on all the states barring Chhattisgarh where two rounds of balloting had already ended.

Even as overjoyed Congress activists took to noisy celebrations outside party offices in the Rajasthan capital Jaipur and in New Delhi, political analyst GVL Narasimha Rao warned that the state results were no great news for the BJP or the Congress.

"The Congress is certainly doing better than expected but not as well as they should have done to win a national election," Rao said. "The BJP is doing worse than expected and does not look like it is in the lead to come to power nationally. It is a mixed result overall."

Nevertheless, Congress leaders gloated in anticipation of the sweeping victory in BJP-ruled Rajasthan, and a stunning third five-year term win in Delhi, the national capital where the BJP was confident of snatching from the Congress until late Sunday.

"There is no stopping the Congress now," thundered Congress leader M Veerappa Moily, a confidant of party President Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress was on the winning track in distant Mizoram, outclassing the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), a former insurgent group that has ruled the northeastern state since 1998.

The BJP, however, was on the winning track in Madhya Pradesh, with its candidates leading in 120 of the 230 seats. The BJP has ruled both Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh since 2003.