 "Congress sinks without a trace thanks to BJP, AAP")
Internally the party was more forthright in putting the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on the mat for the defeat. Congress spokesman Janardhan Dwivedi said in Delhi the party and government had not been on the same page for the past five years.
However, sources close to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ruled out either his resignation or his replacement and said Lok Sabha polls would not be advanced though they conceded this demand will be voiced loudly in Parliament.
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The Congress setback will mean a more triumphant BJP in Parliament, less ready to be conciliatory in doing business. BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said as much when he said: “BJP has scored a fabulous victory. The Congress-led UPA is on its last legs. I would ask market participants and others who are expecting legislative support for bills from us: wait for a few months. We will bring in reform. Why leave it to the Congress which is in its dying throes any way”. The government needs BJP's help in passing several bills including the Direct Tax Code, the increase in FDI caps in the insurance sector and reform relating to coal mining.
The proportions of the defeat were breathtaking. In Delhi, which was headed for central rule on account of a hung assembly, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit lost her own seat to Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party who won by a huge margin of over 20,000 votes. Four Congress ministers also lost the election. In Rajasthan, the Congress was down 70 seats over its 2008 tally. In Madhya Pradesh the Congress slid below its own tally of 71 in 2008. And in Chhattisgarh, despite losing a large part of its state leadership in a Maoist attack, it fell short of the numbers to form the government.
An elated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) preened over a stunning performance in Rajasthan (160 out of 199 seats) and Madhya Pradesh (162 out of 230 seats). It got to form the government in Chhattisgarh (48 out of 90) but only just.
However, the day belonged to the Aam Aadmi Party which won a stupendous 27 seats: a victory far beyond most expectations, bolstered by votes from areas and groups which have traditionally been Congress supporters. AAP has announced that it will neither seek help nor help anyone else in forming a government. It also said it will contest in some seats in the Lok Sabha elections (see Prashant Bhushan interview inside).
Although he was not asked the question, suo moto, BJP president Rajnath Singh said the BJP’s victory was attributable to its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra modi. Through the day however, BJP spokesmen said the victory belonged to the party’s chief ministerial candidates in various states.
Although this election spanned only 72 Lok Sabha seats, BJP leader Arun Jaitley said extrapolating the result suggested the BJP had won 65 seats out of 72.
The defeat could have other ramifications: it could see the UPA unravel as alliance partners begin to put pressure on it.
Internally the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which shares power in the Maharashtra government is already flush with sly triumph. “What has happened is the best thing possible – now the eqilibrium in the alliance will be better” said a central minister from the NCP.
Within the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) too, a big lobby that does not want to ally with the Congress in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections has already begun to say quite vocally that the party should explore its options with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) without further ado. “Who will want to ally with us now ? in this kind of environment ?” asked a senior member of the Congress from Tamil Nadu.
A top official who did not want to be identified said the scheduling of the session of Parliament is entirely the prorogative of the government. If the government decides to extend the winter session, a demand made by the opposition, it will be the surest sign that Lok Sabha elections will be advanced.
However, he added that he did not detect any signs of any such move.