Lawyers, litigants glued to TV sets for election results

Lawyers in Delhi courts were not immune to the election fever Friday and were seen glued to TV sets and engrossed in discussion when people started celebrating the BJP's victory.

Lawyers in the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court and six trial courts could be heard discussing the poll results and formation of the new government.

The Plaza canteen in the Supreme Court was filled with lawyers animatedly talking about the results. But there was no distribution of sweets or any other celebrations.

A number of lawyers and security personnel were glued to television set in the canteen keeping track of every fluctuation in the counting.

There was excitement over unexpected results giving the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) an outright win.

Court room proceedings were no deterrence when senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi mentioned a matter before the bench of Justice B.S. Chauhan and Justice A.K. Sikri pertaining to power supply in Delhi.

When Rohtagi said this, Justice Chauhan said: "Now new power is coming. Who is worried about this (electric) power."

When Justice Sikri asked about the urgency in hearing the matter, Rohtagi said, "New power won't have power." Amid the lighter moments, the court directed the listing of the matter for Monday.

There was some anxiety among the pro-BJP lawyers over the result in Amritsar constituency where BJP candidate Arun Jaitely was contesting. When a senior lawyer said that Jaitely was trailing behind Amarinder Singh of the Congress by a few thousand votes, a senior counsel retorted that the gap would be covered when votes from villages were counted.

The same atmosphere prevailed in the high court where lawyers were seen watching TV for the results. In the corridors lawyers and litigants were discussing the election results.

"Its a clean sweep in Delhi by the BJP. The party is doing very well. Its a Modi wave which worked. I just hope for a good and strong government," advocate Rohit Nagpal of the Delhi High Court told IANS.

In the Patiala House Court, lawyers were updating themselves by using twitter, the website of the Election Commission and TV sets installed in their chambers.

The lawyers of the BJP legal cell set off crackers and distributed sweets in Patiala House Court.

The country will undergo a sea change under Modi's leadership, some lawyers could be heard saying. However, there were lawyers who had a different opinion on the new government. "He will be same as the other leaders," said one of them.

"Modi is a strong leader with a strong will. I hope that India will progress in every field under his leadership," advocate M.S. Khan told IANS.

Shatrughan Mukhiya, a cigarette and tea seller at the Patiala House Court, said he will be happy if Modi fulfils his promises.

"He must do something good for the people," he said.