The verdict of the Assembly elections in four states – Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh – has sparked a wave of fresh enthusiasm in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) camp, which has already been riding high after the declaration of Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial candidate.
Not only did the party retain its governments in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, it also snatched away power from the Congress party in Delhi and Rajasthan. While it sweeped Rajasthan, winning 162 seats, the BJP managed to emerge as the the single largest party in Delhi with 33 seats, two short of the half-way mark. However, despite the good performance by the national party, the show was stolen by the debutant – Aam Aadmi Party. The party, formed by Arvind Kejriwal less than a year ago, performed spectacularly well by winning in as many as 27 seats. AAP's performance was particularly amazing as the party did not follow the traditional political means during its campaign and fielded faces alien to the Indian polity. Both the Congress and the BJP could not refrain from taking a strong note of the performance of the Aam Aadmi Party, which has now decided to go national. While leaders from across the rank and file of the BJP congratulated AAP for its good show, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi went on to say that both the national parties needed to take lessons from Arvind Kejriwal's party. The result in Delhi came as a big shock for Sheila Dikshit-led Congress party, which has been in power for 15 years as it was decimated by the BJP and AAP. The Congress managed to secure win in merely eight seats and adding insult to injury Sheila Dikshit lost to Kejriwal by a massive 22,000 votes in the New Delhi constituency. Meanwhle, in Rajasthan, the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government was routed as the BJP swept the state under the leadership of Vasundhara Raje. Out of the 199 Assembly seats, the BJP emerged victorious on 162 seats while the ruling Congress registered wins in just 21. Raje, who will soon take oath as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, said that the Narendra Modi wave was a major factor for the performance of the BJP. Modi had campaigned extensively in the state. In Madhya Pradesh, incumbent Chief Minister Shivaj Singh Chouhan ensured a third term in the top office by bagging even more seats than his tally in previous elections. Under his leadership, the BJP won 165 seats this time. The Congress, which failed to project a face for the polls, won just 58 seats. Chouhan hailed the people of the state and thanked the central leadership of the party, including Narendra Modi and L K Advani. On the other hand, Jyotiraditya Scindia of the Congress conceded defeat early in the day, but stopped short of blaming the party leadership, saying he got very less time to travel across the state and campaign for the party. While the BJP registered a clear and sound victory in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, it was a neck-and-neck battle in Chhattisgarh. However, overcoming intermittent hiccups, the BJP, under the leadership of Raman Singh, managed to bag 46 seats against Congress, which won a respectable 41 seats. It remains to be seen if it can manage to hold on to this lead till all the results are in. Source: Article, Vasundhara Raje gave credit to Narendra Modi for landslide victory: Amid the sliding victory of BJP in the four state assembly election, Rajasthan BJP leader and CM candidate Vasundhara Raje has said that the victory is
Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. She has said there is big hand of Modi in the major victory of BJP in the state. According to sources, She said that Modi has a big hand in the party's win in Rajasthan. Raje said that there is a big hand of Narendra Modi in the victory of Rajasthan. She further added that he people of Rajasthan wanted to see the same development as in Gujarat. Terming the elections as the Semi Final, Raje said that certainly these will play crucial role for the final elections to be held in 2014. Terming Congress as the misrule, she also said that people were tired of the Congress in the state and so they voted for the BJP. (With inputs from IANS). Source: Article. Kejriwal, the giant killer who swept Dikshit out of power: Dismissed as a political greenhorn, engineer—turned—civil servant Arvind Kejriwal has cemented his place in politics with a stunning political debut for his nascent AAP and emerged as a giant killer to sweep Sheila Dikshit out from not only office but also her constituency. Belying all claims of being a “non-actor or no factor” in the Delhi Assembly elections 
by Congress and BJP, Kejriwal was largely instrumental in snapping the 15-year rule of incumbent Chief Minister. Adding to her misery was the defeat in her own turf—-New Delhi constituency—by a huge margin of 25,864 votes. Often poked fun at by politicians, the 45—year—old former Indian Revenue Service(IRS) officer was challenged by none other than senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal in — not to criticise the political system as an outsider but join it to cleanse it from within. In the past one year, if there was one person who sent the entire political spectrum into a tizzy it was undoubtedly Kejriwal, who attacked both BJP and Congress on the issues of corruption, exorbitant rise in power and water tariff, safety of women and had managed to make a dent in the vote banks of both the parties. Soft-spoken but a man with strong conviction, the Ramon Magsaysay award winner came into prominence from the agitation by 75—year—old activist Anna Hazare in support of Jan Lokpal Bill in 2011. He was part of the Team Anna, along with first woman IPS officer Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan and others. He was the civil society representative member of the committee constituted by the Government to draft the Jan Lokpal bill, following the campaign for introduction of such legislation. After feeling “betrayed” by the government when it rejected their draft, Congress and other leaders challenged them to join politics, win elections and come to Parliament if they wanted to “fight system from within”, root out corruption and get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed. Known for taking on challenges, the indefatigable activist decided to take a plunge into politics and formed “Aam Aadmi Party” on November 26 last year, after a formal split of Team Anna. The party name — Aam Aadmi Party — reflects the phrase Aam Aadmi or “common man”, whose interests Kejriwal proposed to represent and got its poll symbol “broom” in July this year. The party started its poll preparation way ahead in April with an emphasis to field only candidates with a “clean image” for all the 70 Assembly constituencies. Source: Article. Image, Poll effect: Cong pledges introspection, transformation: Stunned by the drubbing in assembly polls, top leadership of the Congress on Sunday pledged “deep introspection” with a view to “transform” the party to rectify its mistakes ahead of
2014 Lok Sabha elections. Stating that the party was “very very disappointed” with the results, its President Sonia Gandhi, however, suggested that this outcome would have no bearing on the Lok Sabha polls since “general elections are quite different”. “We will introspect seriously and we will take all necessary actions to rectify our mistakes or our way of functioning,” she told reporters at the AICC headquarters here soon after it became clear that the Congress had done badly in the current round of assembly polls. Asked whether the Congress party would name its Prime Ministerial candidate against BJP’s Narendra Modi, Gandhi said, “people need not worry as, at an opportune time, the name of the Prime Ministerial candidate” will be announced. Initially she appeared reluctant to give an answer when asked whether Rahul would be named as the Prime Ministerial candidate. “We will make a statement. The party has to decide. The party will decide at the opportune time,” she said. Appearing before the media along with his mother, party vice president Rahul Gandhi the Congress party has to transform itself to stand up. “We have to move to a new paradigm and give serious space to the common masses.” He said through the elections, “people have given us a message, which we have heard." Asked whether these results would have a bearing on the next Lok Sabha polls, Sonia Gandhi said, “General elections are quite different. People in state elections do focus on personality at the state level, at leaders who are likely to lead them.” However, in national elections “people look at the person who is likely to guide them and govern them at the national level. The issues will be slightly different because at the state level, the issues are localised. At the national level, there are national issues,” the Congress chief said. “It goes without saying that we are very disappointed at the results but we accept the verdict of the people with all humility. We congratulate our opponents for winning the elections,” she said. “We have to look into the way we took or did not take our message to the people and also we have to look at the way our own party is equipped or not so equipped in running an election,” the Congress chief said. Briefly analysing the causes of the drubbing, she said, “Of course, there will be a number of reasons for these defeats. I know many were complaining, people were unhappy. Otherwise, they would not have given such a result.” Listing some of the reasons, she said, “Perhaps, price rise was also an issue. It was affecting people.” Asked about the spectacular performance of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, Rahul said both the major parties, Congress and BJP, had thought about politics in a traditional way. “I think, we need to consider thinking in terms of empowering the people which I have been saying within the party. I am going to make this a central issue,” he said. Maintaining that he would learn from the success of AAP, Rahul said the new party involved lot of people which traditional parties do not do. “We are going to involve (people) in a way you can’t imagine,” . Source: Article, Image
by Congress and BJP, Kejriwal was largely instrumental in snapping the 15-year rule of incumbent Chief Minister. Adding to her misery was the defeat in her own turf—-New Delhi constituency—by a huge margin of 25,864 votes. Often poked fun at by politicians, the 45—year—old former Indian Revenue Service(IRS) officer was challenged by none other than senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal in — not to criticise the political system as an outsider but join it to cleanse it from within. In the past one year, if there was one person who sent the entire political spectrum into a tizzy it was undoubtedly Kejriwal, who attacked both BJP and Congress on the issues of corruption, exorbitant rise in power and water tariff, safety of women and had managed to make a dent in the vote banks of both the parties. Soft-spoken but a man with strong conviction, the Ramon Magsaysay award winner came into prominence from the agitation by 75—year—old activist Anna Hazare in support of Jan Lokpal Bill in 2011. He was part of the Team Anna, along with first woman IPS officer Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan and others. He was the civil society representative member of the committee constituted by the Government to draft the Jan Lokpal bill, following the campaign for introduction of such legislation. After feeling “betrayed” by the government when it rejected their draft, Congress and other leaders challenged them to join politics, win elections and come to Parliament if they wanted to “fight system from within”, root out corruption and get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed. Known for taking on challenges, the indefatigable activist decided to take a plunge into politics and formed “Aam Aadmi Party” on November 26 last year, after a formal split of Team Anna. The party name — Aam Aadmi Party — reflects the phrase Aam Aadmi or “common man”, whose interests Kejriwal proposed to represent and got its poll symbol “broom” in July this year. The party started its poll preparation way ahead in April with an emphasis to field only candidates with a “clean image” for all the 70 Assembly constituencies. Source: Article. Image, Poll effect: Cong pledges introspection, transformation: Stunned by the drubbing in assembly polls, top leadership of the Congress on Sunday pledged “deep introspection” with a view to “transform” the party to rectify its mistakes ahead of
2014 Lok Sabha elections. Stating that the party was “very very disappointed” with the results, its President Sonia Gandhi, however, suggested that this outcome would have no bearing on the Lok Sabha polls since “general elections are quite different”. “We will introspect seriously and we will take all necessary actions to rectify our mistakes or our way of functioning,” she told reporters at the AICC headquarters here soon after it became clear that the Congress had done badly in the current round of assembly polls. Asked whether the Congress party would name its Prime Ministerial candidate against BJP’s Narendra Modi, Gandhi said, “people need not worry as, at an opportune time, the name of the Prime Ministerial candidate” will be announced. Initially she appeared reluctant to give an answer when asked whether Rahul would be named as the Prime Ministerial candidate. “We will make a statement. The party has to decide. The party will decide at the opportune time,” she said. Appearing before the media along with his mother, party vice president Rahul Gandhi the Congress party has to transform itself to stand up. “We have to move to a new paradigm and give serious space to the common masses.” He said through the elections, “people have given us a message, which we have heard." Asked whether these results would have a bearing on the next Lok Sabha polls, Sonia Gandhi said, “General elections are quite different. People in state elections do focus on personality at the state level, at leaders who are likely to lead them.” However, in national elections “people look at the person who is likely to guide them and govern them at the national level. The issues will be slightly different because at the state level, the issues are localised. At the national level, there are national issues,” the Congress chief said. “It goes without saying that we are very disappointed at the results but we accept the verdict of the people with all humility. We congratulate our opponents for winning the elections,” she said. “We have to look into the way we took or did not take our message to the people and also we have to look at the way our own party is equipped or not so equipped in running an election,” the Congress chief said. Briefly analysing the causes of the drubbing, she said, “Of course, there will be a number of reasons for these defeats. I know many were complaining, people were unhappy. Otherwise, they would not have given such a result.” Listing some of the reasons, she said, “Perhaps, price rise was also an issue. It was affecting people.” Asked about the spectacular performance of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, Rahul said both the major parties, Congress and BJP, had thought about politics in a traditional way. “I think, we need to consider thinking in terms of empowering the people which I have been saying within the party. I am going to make this a central issue,” he said. Maintaining that he would learn from the success of AAP, Rahul said the new party involved lot of people which traditional parties do not do. “We are going to involve (people) in a way you can’t imagine,” . Source: Article, Image
