Assembly poll results a dampener to Congress

It was a series of mistakes that appeared to have cost dearly to Rahul’s ‘Mission UP 2012’. They included off the cuff remarks,controversial comments and raking up of sentimental issues by senior party leaders including Union ministers.

Even Amethi and Rae Bareli,the pocket boroughs of Gandhi-Nehru family,gave a shocker to the party as it managed to win only two of the ten Assembly seats in these twin Lok Sabha constituencies represented by Rahul and Sonia Gandhi.

Despite Rahul’s herculean efforts,the Congress could at the most manage just 28 seats in the 403-member House. It has won 20 and was leading in eight seats.

If it wins 28 seats,it will be just six more than in 2007 when BSP supremo Mayawati had ousted SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav from power. Its ally RLD won five and led in four.

In Punjab,Congress wanted to ride the anti-incumbency wave but was handed out a shock defeat by the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP. Restricting the Congress to just 46 in the 117-member House,the ruling combine bagged 68 seats,just one less than last time.

The defeat in Punjab was a setback for the party as the leadership had go to the extent of declaring senior leader Amarinder Singh as the chief ministerial candidate,something rare in Congress.

AICC was quick to blame the “laxity and overconfidence” of the state organisations for the poor result. The defeat was all the more shocking as Punjab has the tradition of never repeating the incumbent government.

In the tiny state of Goa,the Congress-NCP government appeared to be a victim of anti-incumbency in the wake of scandals like mining scam.

BJP which aligned with MGP was quick to grab the opportunity under the leadership of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar whose rule was known for good governance.

In the 40-member Assembly,BJP has won 19 and was leading in two,while ally MGP won three seats. Congress failed to reach the double digit mark by securing just nine seats. Last time it had won 16 seats and its ally NCP three.

Signals from within Congress that Chief Minister Digambar Kamat will not get the post after the polls created more problems for the party so also the issue of giving tickets to kith and kin of senior leaders.

In Uttarakhand,Congress was hoping to form the next government in a see-saw battle with BJP for the 70-member House.

The real good news for the Congress came from the northeastern state of Manipur where Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh created a hat-trick by shaking off the opposition challenge.

In the state,the Congress romped back to power for the third consecutive time with a clear majority,helped by a fragmented opposition. Congress clinched 36 of 52 seats in the 60-member House and was leading in five remaining seats.