Just ahead of Lok Sabha polls, BJP today handed a severe 4-0 drubbing to Congress in the assembly elections by scoring landslide victories in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, holding on to power in Chhattisgarh and close to forming a government in Delhi.
The election results also saw a fledgling Aam Aadmi Party stunning major parties in Delhi where its chief Arvind Kejriwal emerged the giant killer defeating three-time Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit by a huge margin. While its performance helped in the rout of Congress, it halted BJP's march towards a majority.
Propelled by the aggressive campaign of its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, BJP wrested power from Congress in Rajasthan by scoring a three-fourth majority and retained power in Madhya Pradesh where it increased its tally to reach two-third majority.
It was a hat-trick for BJP in Madhya Pradesh where Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan led the party to a spectacular tally of 164 seats in the 230-member assembly, 21 seats more than last time. BJP was ahead in one more seat.
The Congress suffered a huge defeat with its tally coming down to 58 from 71 seats. BSP got four seats and independents three.
In Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje spearheaded the saffron surge, ousting the Congress which registered its worst-ever performance. BJP got 162 seats, its highest ever tally, in the 200-member assembly, leaving Congress with only 21. In the outgoing assembly, BJP had 78 and Congress 96 seats.
National People's Party got four, BSP three and National Unionist Zamindara Party two. Independents won seven.
