Page 6 - State Assembly Polls

Less than 1% voters opted for NOTA in MP, Raj, T'gana; 1.3% in Chhattisgarh

The counting of votes in three out of four states on Sunday showed that less than one per cent of the voters exercised the 'none of the above' (NOTA) option in the just-concluded assembly polls, according to the election commission. Assembly polls were conducted in five states and while the counting of votes in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana was held on Sunday, votes will be counted in Mizoram on Monday. In Madhya Pradesh, 0.99 per cent of the voters went for the NOTA option out of total voter turnout of 77.15 per cent. In neighbouring Chhattisgarh, 1.29 per cent of the electors pressed the NOTA button. Here, the voter turnout was 76.3 per cent. In Telangana, 0.74 per cent of the electors opted for NOTA. The state registered 71.14 per cent of voter turnout. Similarly, in Rajasthan 0.96 per cent of the voters exercised the NOTA option. It had recorded 74.62 per cent turnout. Talking to PTI on the NOTA option, Pradeep Gupta of Axis My India said NOTA has been

Assembly poll results show support for BJP's battle against corruption: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed BJP's big win in the assembly polls as a victory for his government's agenda of self-reliant India, asserting that its hat-trick in the states is a guarantee of its hat-trick of Lok Sabha poll wins in 2024. "The results show popular support for our battle against corruption," he told a crowd of cheering supporters at the BJP headquarters here, adding that they have served a lesson to the Congress and the opposition's INDIA bloc that mere collecting some dynasts on dais may make for a good photograph but cannot win people's confidence. Voters have delivered a warning to these parties involved in corruption to mend their ways or people will finish them off, he said. No one should come in between the Centre's development and people, or the masses will remove them, Modi said in a stinging attack on opposition parties. Some people are already saying our hat-trick in the states is a guarantee of hat-trick in the Lok Sabha polls in 2024, he .

Rajasthan elections 2023 highlights: BJP to form govt, wins 115 seats

Rajasthan state Assembly elections LIVE: Catch all the latest updates of Rajasthan elections 2023 here, counting of votes to take place today

Rajasthan Assembly election 2023 results: Here's how leaders reacted

The counting of votes in Rajasthan concluded on December 3, with BJP winning the majority with 115 seats and the Congress securing 68 seats

Rajasthan elections: BJP regains power with 115 seats, Congress wins 69

Rajasthan Assembly elections 2023: Vote share of BJP was around 41.69% and Congress at 39.53%, according to the Election Commission of India

Election results signal need for Oppn's INDIA bloc to redraw strategy

The Congress on Sunday suffered a near wipeout in the Hindi heartland as it lost 3-1 to the BJP in the assembly polls, signalling the need to redraw its strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The party was trounced in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and is now left with only Himachal Pradesh in the north. It is ruling in only three states on its own and is in power in Bihar and Jharkhand as a junior partner in alliance with regional parties. However, its victory in Telangana gave a boost to its consolidation in southern India where it is in power on its own in Karnataka. Congress' loss in key states has also weakened the grand old party's position in the INDIA bloc where equations are set to change, as other opposition parties would challenge its position as the fulcrum of the alliance. While Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had lashed out at the Congress over refusal to share seats in Madhya Pradesh, more rumblings within the opposition bloc have begun after the

Assembly poll results show 'Modi magic' remains strong in Hindi heartland

The assembly poll results on Sunday have delivered a ringing endorsement of the BJP's strategy centred on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal and governance plank, quashing the Congress' hopes of revival in the Hindi heartland and boosting the impression that the ruling party is favourite to retain power for a third straight term in 2024. The BJP had taken the gambit of not projecting any chief ministerial face and built its campaign around grander narratives involving the Modi government's works despite misgivings in some quarters, as the five state polls came months after the Karnataka elections where a similar strategy came unstuck. A big win in Karnataka had fuelled the Congress' hopes that it had finally found a counter-punch powered by local leadership and welfare guarantees to put the BJP on the defensive but Sunday's verdict makes it clear that the 'Modi magic' remains strong and can turn the tide in the states where it enjoys strong organisational presence. If anything, t

Telangana Governor accepts CM KCR's resignation following BRS poll loss

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Sunday accepted the resignation of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and urged him to continue in office till the formation of the new government. Rao's resignation letter was received, and the Governor accepted it, a press communique from Raj Bhavan said. The Governor requested Rao to continue in office till the formation of the new government, it said. Rao's son and BRS working president K T Rama Rao earlier said the chief minister had sent his resignation to the Governor following BRS' defeat in the assembly election.

KCR has sent his resignation to Telangana guv, says BRS leader Rama Rao

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has sent his resignation to Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan in the wake of his party's defeat in the assembly election, BRS working president K T Rama Rao said on Sunday. The results were not as his party wanted but BRS is thankful to the people for giving it an opportunity to serve them for two consecutive terms, he said. "As part of the democratic process, our chief minister has already sent his resignation to the Governor. I think the due process will follow," Rama Rao told reporters here. The BRS would continue to strive for the greater good of Telangana people under the leadership of KCR, he said. Congratulating Congress for winning the people's mandate, the BRS leader said his party would extend all cooperation to the new government. The BRS would play the role of constructive opposition, he said.

Assembly polls: BJP to rule 12 states on its own, Congress down to 3

With the BJP heading towards a victory in three of the four states that went to polls recently, it will now be in power in 12 states on its own, while the number of states ruled by the Congress will come down to three after the party's electoral defeats in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will now account for almost half of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, while only two states, accounting for less than 50 Lok Sabha seats, are now governed by parties not aligned with either the NDA or the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) of opposition parties. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with its governments in Delhi and Punjab, is the third-biggest national party now. The BJP, which rules the Centre, is in power in Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Assam, Tripura, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, and all set to retain Madhya Pradesh and snatch Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the ...

Rumblings ensue in INDIA bloc after Cong's poor poll show in 3 states

With the Assembly poll results in three states being a disappointment for the Congress, some rumblings have begun among the constituents of the INDIA opposition bloc ahead of their meeting on December 6, with many leaders alleging that the grand old party ignored others, but was unable to win elections on its own. While some opposition leaders, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Janata Dal-United's K C Tyagi, have asserted that the Congress's poll defeats in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan will have no impact on the alliance, some other leaders from the bloc have pointed out that the grand old party had distanced itself from the coalition partners. Asked about the Congress's electoral performance, Pawar said, "I do not think it will have any impact on the INDIA bloc. We will be meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in Delhi (on December 6). We will speak to those who are aware of the ground reality. We will be able to .

Assembly election results in 4 states to have bearing on LS polls: Azad

Democratic Progressive Azad Party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said the outcome of the elections to four state assemblies will have a bearing on next year's Lok Sabha polls. "We are just there-and-a-half months away from the Lok Sabha elections. The results of these (assembly) polls will definitely have a bearing on the parliamentary elections," Azad told reporters earlier in the day when the trends began to come in. The BJP is set to win in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, according to the latest counting trends, while the Congress is ahead in Telangana. Azad said, "One thing I have noticed over the past 25 days is that the Congress has abandoned the minorities. The debates from both the BJP and the Congress were limited to the backward classes -- they asked about how many chief ministers are from backward classes." "Not one leader from the Congress asked even once how many chief ministers are there from the minorities," he added. Azad -- who quit the Congress to

MP polls: BJP's Gopal Bhargava registers 9th successive win from Rehli seat

BJP stalwart Gopal Bhargava, who has a reputation for not campaigning during elections, on Sunday registered his ninth consecutive victory from the Rehli seat of Madhya Pradesh as his party surged ahead to retain power in the state. Bhargava (71) defeated his nearest rival and Congress candidate Jyoti Patel by 72,800 votes. He will be the most experienced legislator in the new assembly. The popular politician, who was the leader of opposition during the Kamal Nath-led Congress regime, had first won from Rehli in 1985. Since then, he has been invincible, winning all assembly elections from the seat in the past 38 years. Bhargava, a cabinet minister since 2003 with different portfolios, has said that he doesn't need to campaign as he believes in working for people all five years. Former chief minister and BJP leader late Babulal Gaur, a ten-time MLA, had won eight times in a row from Govindpura of Bhopal. He had been elected two times from Bhopal South (now Bhopal South-West) seat of

Assembly poll results prove days of appeasement, caste politics over: Shah

As the BJP is set to form governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the results have proved that the days of appeasement and caste politics are over and that 'new India' votes on politics of performance. In a series of tweets, he said the BJP's massive victory is the public's seal of approval on the welfare policies and good governance of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Results of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh showed that the BJP will form the government. While in Madhya Pradesh, the party retained power, in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, it has overthrown the Congress. In Telangana, the Congress is set to form the government defeating the Bharath Rashtra Samithi. "There is only one person in the hearts of the people, that is Modi. Today's election results have proved that the days of appeasement and caste politics are over. New India votes on Politics of Performance. I salute the people of

Meet Sunil Kanugolu, the poll strategist behind Congress' win in Telangana

Poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu has yet again proven to be the man with the Midas touch, plotting the Congress' amazing turnaround in Telangana months after being the architect of the grand old party's return to power in Karnataka. Starting with Prashant Kishor's I-PAC, Kanugolu was largely credited for shaping the Congress' win in Karnataka and was later accorded Cabinet rank in the Siddaramaiah government. This time, Kanugolu along with PCC chief A Revanth Reddy formed a formidable pair to chalk out the Congress' strategy to pull down the K Chandrashekhar Rao-led BRS government that was eying a third term in the southern state. The Congress was headed for victory in Telangana while it was staring at crushing defeats in the Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Kanugolu had also made forays in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh following a directive from the party's central leadership but regional satraps Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath reportedly were not on

BRS poor show linked to anti-incumbency and shifting of voter sentiments

Factors such as anti-incumbency, voter fatigue, and dissatisfaction among the youth contributed mainly to the poor showing of BRS in the Telangana Legislative Assembly election on Sunday. Despite the towering image of BRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, along with the party's extensive grassroots network and welfare programmes, the perceived inaccessibility of its leaders contributed to the growing anti-incumbency sentiments. Additionally, the opposition projection of what they called the BRS family rule in the state further exacerbated this sentiment. The party's decision to renominate most of the 119 MLAs did not yield the desired results either. The BRS has dominated Telangana politics since the state's formation in 2014 and had a significant presence even in undivided Andhra Pradesh since 2001. While the BRS government introduced various welfare schemes, its alleged failure to fulfill key election promises, including providing housing for the poor, ensuring ...

Abusing Sanatan Dharma is reason behind Congress' defeat: Political analyst

He attributed talking about the OBC census, especially in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where it was not a factor as the secong reason for Congress' defeat

Modi is in the mind of MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh: Pragya Singh Thakur

Thakur said, "BJP has got votes for the respect of women, the safety of the country, culture, development and prosperity of the nation, national security, religious security and welfare of the nation"

Congress will fulfil Telangana people's aspirations: Revanth Reddy

Thanking senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and AICC Chief Mallikarjun Kharge, TPCC chief Revanth Reddy on Sunday said it is the party's responsibility to fulfil Telangana people's aspirations after forming the government in the state. Speaking to mediapersons, he said the Congress's victory is dedicated to Telangana martyrs. He welcomed the BRS Working President's wishes to the Congress party on its victory, and said he expects the BRS's cooperation in giving good governance to the people. It is a people's mandate. We need not (do) a postmortem. Everything goes well, then only you will get that magic number. The simple point is that they (people) wanted to change. They wanted to defeat KCR. They have defeated KCR. That's all, he said. He thanked Congress allies in the polls, CPI and Telangana Jana Samithi, for their support. He said the Pragathi Bhavan, the official residence of the chief minister will be renamed 'Praja Bhavan' once the Congress forms the government.

Rajasthan election results: CM Ashok Gehlot concedes defeat to BJP

The incumbent chief minister may hand in his resignation to the governor of Rajasthan on Sunday