Modi magic waning fast : Adhir Chowdhury

Elated over the party's performance in the assembly polls in Maharastra and Haryana, the leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Thursday said the so called "Modi magic" is fast waning.

The result of the assembly polls in the two states will help to rejuvenate Congress in the days to come, he said.

In the first assembly elections after BJP's triumph in the Lok Sabha polls in May, the saffron party's electoral juggernaut has met with some resistance in Maharashtra and Haryana with a resurgent Congress performing creditably in the northern state.

"The election results of Haryana and Maharastra has shown that the Modi magic is waning too fast. The results are a reflection of the frustration of the people with the anti-people policies of the government and the economic slowdown," Chowdhury told PTI.

The results will boost the morale of the rank and file of the Congress. "The fighting spirit of the party in Harayana will help us to rejuvenate the party across the country," he said.

BJP-ruled Haryana now appears headed for a hung assembly and JJP chief Dushyant Chautala is set to become the kingmaker. BJP, however, is set to emerge as the single largest party in Haryana followed by Congress.

Chowdhury expressed his doubts whether BJP will play it "fair" during the government formation in Haryana.

"Horse trading by BJP will now start in Haryana to form the government. It is to be seen whether BJP respects the people's mandate or it goes against it and gets its hands dirty by using all sorts of unethical means to form the government," the five time MP from West Bengal, said.

In Haryana, the Congress, which failed to bag even one seat in the Lok Sabha polls, won or was ahead in 31 of the 90 seats at stake compared to its previous tally of 15. The BJP, which had 47 seats in the outgoing 90-member house, has won or is ahead in 40 seats. The half-way mark is 46.

All eyes are on the fledgling Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which was floated last year by Dushyant Chautala a former MP from Hisar, after a vertical split in the once powerful INLD.

As per the results and trends available in Maharashtra, The BJP-Shiv Sena coalition is on course to retain power in Maharashtra albeit with a reduced majority. The opposition Congress-NCP alliance has put up a good show. BJP's tally in the 288-member assembly is 99 and 57 for Shiv Sena.

NCP has won or is ahead in 55 while the Congress' tally was 44. The NCP and the Congress bagged 41 and 42 seats respectively in the outgoing house.

In the 2014 polls, the BJP and the Sena had contested separately and won 122 and 63 seats respectively. Shiv Sena had joined the Fadnavis-led government more than a month after it was formed.