Mohan:
BJP 292 Cong 137 ---projected
Vajpayee set to form Govt
Free Press Journal
October 7, 1999
NDA heads for simple majority
NEW DELHI: Atal Behari Vajpayee is all set to become Prime Minister once
again, with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) heading towards a simple
majority. Except for reverses in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the BJP and its allies
are doing better in almost all the states, including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Similarly, in Maharashtra the
BJP-Shiv Sena combine is forging ahead.
The BJP has swept polls in Delhi by winning all the seven seats and Himachal
Pradesh by winning all the four seats. In Haryana, both the INLD and the BJP
have secured 10 seats.
The NDA is all set to increase its tally of last time from 254 to around 290 to 300
seats.
Though the Congress has got major gains in UP and Punjab, as expected, it is
way behind the tally of the BJP which is emerging as the single-largest party.
Even if the Congress would have become the single-largest party, it still would
have failed to form the Government as its allies have fared badly in Tamil Nadu,
with the AIADMK trailing behind the DMK-BJP alliance. Similarly, the Left
parties are also expected to reduce their tally from the last time by losing
several seats in West Bengal to the Trinamool Congress and in Kerala to the
Congress.
The Congress, on its own, is expected to gain 15 to 20 seats from its earlier tally
of 1998 when it had secured 144 seats.
All the major stalwarts have won their respective seats, including Vajpayee
from Lucknow, though his victory margin has been reduced considerably.
Similarly, Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to win from Bellary
though Sushma Swaraj, the BJP candidate had given her a tough fight. In
Amethi, too, Sonia Gandhi is expected to emerge victorious.
Union Home Minister L K Advani has won from Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Dr
Murli Manohar Joshi from Allahbad in UP, Congress leader Madhavrao
Scindia from Guna in MP, former Union Industry Minister Murosoli Maran
from Chennai Central in TN and former Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana from
Sadar in Delhi.
However, senior Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Dr Manmohan
Singh lost from the South Delhi constituency and Janata Party leader
Subramaniam Swamy from Madurai in Tamil Nadu. Former Prime Minister H D
Deve Gowda has lost in Hassan in Karnataka.
The seats where the Congress was considered to do better, including Madhya
Pradesh and Karnataka, it has performed marginally better, gaining four to five
seats in MP and gaining six seats in Karnataka.
Surprisingly, the Congress which had wrested the states of Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh and Delhi from the BJP during the Assembly elections, has lost
heavily in Delhi and Rajasthan and has managed to improve its tally marginally
in Madhya Pradesh.
Since Sonia Gandhi would be able to improve the tally of the Congress from the
last Lok Sabha elections, there seems to be no threat to her leadership from her
party after the elections. She will now be sitting as the Opposition leader in the
Lok Sabha. |
