Back to biz: CWG, development issues now priority

The scent of development and the personal charm of chief minister Sheila Dikshit ushered the Congress into a record third term in Delhi on Monday with the party winning a clear majority of 42 seats of the 69 that had gone to polls on November 29.

The scent of development and the personal charm of chief minister Sheila Dikshit ushered the Congress into a record third term in Delhi on Monday with the party winning a clear majority of 42 seats of the 69 that had gone to polls on November 29.

Its main opponent the BJP, with hopes buoyed by issues of anti-incumbency, price rise, sealings and demolition, could manage only 23. The party8217;s chief ministerial candidate V K Malhotra, 77, who had defeated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 19998217;s general elections, could not be the giant-killer this time around. Though he won from Greater Kailash-I, his charge to the ballot had looked lacklustre and uninspiring.

Seventy-one-year-old Dikshit8217;s six ministers survived, though it was a close shave for Yoganand Shastri who defeated his BJP opponent by a 100 votes in Mehrauli. The others A K Walia, Arvinder Singh Lovely, Harun Yusuf, Raj Kumar Chauhan and Mangat Ram Singhal won handsomely. Dikshit trounced BJP8217;s Vijay Jolly by 14,000 for the New Delhi constituency.

The Congress managed to keep the Bahujan Samaj Party8217;s trumpeting elephant on the fringes of the mandate but conceded two seats to Mayawati 8212; Badarpur in the south and Gokulpuri in the east. The defeated MLAs, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Balzor Singh, were from the Congress.

The Lok Jan Shakti Party managed one seat. Of the 354 independent candidates in the race, one 8212; from Najafgarh 8212; got elected.

Though elections took place in the thick of the terror onslaught on Mumbai and the voter turnout looked unexpectedly high 56.3 per cent, the carnage did not touch the ballot here. The BJP however had made all efforts to keep the blood fresh in the voters8217; minds by releasing advertisements in the media till the last day.

Dikshit later criticised the BJP for politicising 8216;terror8217; and said terrorism was of national importance and should have been left there. 8220;We shall continue the development. Our challenge is to improve the quality of life,8221; she said.

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BJP8217;s other plank 8212; the Bus Rapid Transit BRT corridor 8212; did not ensure a smooth ride for the party either with the Congress sweeping almost all seats along the corridor. These are Ambedkar Nagar, Malviya Nagar, Mehrauli, Deoli and Kalkaji. Guinness record-holder and Vidhan Sabha Speaker Chaudhary Prem Singh bagged Ambedkar Nagar again. He has won this seat for the last 50 years.