India: Congress wins elections in 3 major states

In its first test since parliamentary elections four months ago, India’s ruling Congress party on Thursday emerged victorious in the assembly elections in three crucial states of Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh.

In the industrial western state of Maharashtra, the Congress retained power for a third consecutive term defeating the Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance.

It also swept north-eastern Arunachal Pradesh and got a slender victory in northern Haryana in the outskirts of national capital New Delhi.

The Congress along with its ally the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won 145 seats out of 288 in Maharashtra.

The Haryana results came as a bit of a surprise for the Congress, which advanced polls by over seven months to cash in on its Lok Sabha performance, in which it had won nine out of the 10 seats.

The party managed to win only 40 of the 90 seats, falling short of a simple majority.

These elections were being considered the first crucial test of the popularity for major political parties after the Lok Sabha polls.

In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thakery’s estranged nephew Raj ThackerayRaj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’(MNS) is seen as one of the main reasons behind the Congress’s success.

Immediately after results started coming in, the opposition BJP blamed electronic voting machines (EVMs) for its defeat, saying they have become ‘Electronic Victory Machines’ for the Congress in the elections.

Later, at a party’s regular briefing, the party, however, conceded defeat.

It attributed loss to the discordant voices from the party disheartening its cadres and supporters.

“I am conveying expectations of cadres and supporters that we will have to speak in one voice,” party spokesman Ravi ShankarRavi Shankar Prasad told reporters.

He said the party would have to undertake an “honest analysis” of its shortcomings and introspect by taking a complete stock of all factors.

No question of shutting eyes to the reality, he affirmed