BJP sweeps UP, but loses Punjab and trails in Goa, Manipur
Updated by admin on
Saturday, March 11, 2017 02:26 PM IST
New Delhi:
The ruling BJP at the Centre found a mixed bag in the Assembly elections in five States, sweeping Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, but losing in Punjab, and trailing in Goa and Manipur. The BJP is poised to win over 300 Assembly seats in UP, and 58 out of 70 seats in Uttarakhand, but lost to Congress in Punjab, and was marginally behind the Congress in Goa and Manipur. If the Congress maintains its lead and goes on to form the government in Goa and Manipur, it can maintain a bold face and claim victory in three States, especially BJP-ruled States, indicating a close contest for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. AAP made a good debut in Punjab, finishing second, ahead of the ruling SAD-BJP alliance.
The BJP stellar performance is explained by the intense infighting in the ruling Samajwadi Party, with CM Akhilesh being opposed by his father Mulayam and uncle Shivpal Yadav all the way. Shivpal Yadav even supported rebel candidates and this cost the SP dearly.
While the BJP is gloating over its UP performance, winning over three fourth of the seats in the State, its victory has been dampened by the loss of the SAD-BJP alliance, and the strong performance of the Congress in Goa and Manipur. Although Goa and Manipur seem to be heading for a hung Assembly, the Congress continued to have a slender lead over the BJP in both States.
Cap. Amarinder Singh has led his party to a Congress triumph in Punjab, to recapture power in that crucial State.
CMs of two States lost the elections, Rawat of the Congress in Uttarakhand, and Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar of BJP lost his seat to Dayanand Sopte in Mandrem constituency. In Uttarakhand, failed to change the chief ministership at least a year before the polls as Rawat, facing corruption charges, was clearly unpopular.
BSP leader Mayawati, shocked by the results and the poor performance of her party in UP, has claimed that EVMs were tampered with, and that the election was rigged in favour of BJP. The victory of the BJP even in Muslim-dominated areas proved this, she alleged.
For the BJP, the loss of power in Punjab and Goa and the revival of the Congress in these two States have come as a rude shock. The ability of the Congress to bounce back in these two States and snatch power from the BJP and its allies, means that the fight for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls would be on in full swing.
