Cong appoints observers for M'rashtra, Arunachal, Haryana

Congress today appointed central observers in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh, to facilitate election of the party's chief ministers.

While senior leaders A K Antony, Digvijay Singh and K Rehman Khan have been named the observers for Maharashtra, general secretaries Prithviraj Chavan, Mohsina Kidwai and B K Hariprasad will do the job in Haryana.

Senior leaders Oscar Fernandes, Luizinho Faleiro and V Narayansami are the central observers for Arunachal Pradesh.

The announcement was made by AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi.

The meeting of the new legislature party in Haryana will take place this evening.

Congress romped home, victorious for a third straight term in Maharashtra, swept Arunachal Pradesh with a two-third majority, but its snap poll gamble failed in Haryana where it fell short of six seats.

The Congress-NCP combine, ruling Maharashtra for the past 10 years, beat the anti-incumbency factor and won 144 seats in a House of 288.The combine needed just one more seat for a simple majority.

The spectacular showing in Arunachal Pradesh saw the Congress gain a two-third majority with 42 seats in he 60-member Assembly against 34 it had won last time.