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Congress workers and supporters celebrate after the party’s victory in Rajasthan Assembly elections, at party office in Jaipur on Tuesday.[/caption]
New Delhi, Dec. 11 (PTI): Buoyed by Congress’ resurgence, party president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the assembly poll outcome is a “clear message” to the Modi government that people are not happy with it and time has come for a change while asserting that his party will also win in 2019.
Prime Minister Narender Modi got a massive mandate but refused to listen to “heartbeat of the country”, Gandhi noted, and said there are serious questions being asked about the future of country’s youngsters as there was a sense of discontentment and inability to see the future.
Thanking people and party workers for party’s good performance in three states of Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, he said, “It’s now time for change. We are going to provide these three states with a vision for overall development”. However, he added that they would have liked to do better in Telangana.
Hitting at the BJP for its often-stated remark of Congress-mukt (Congress-free) Bharat, Gandhi said,”the BJP has a certain ideology and we will fight against it. We have won this elections, we will also win in 2019. However, we do not want to get rid of anyone, ‘hum kisi ko mukt nahi karna chahtein’.”
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Congress President Rahul Gandhi arrives to address the media after the party’s win in the Assembly elections of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday.[/caption]
Asked about the selection of chief ministers in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, he said there will not be any issue and it will be done smoothly.
There is a clear message to Prime Minister Modi that people are not happy with his decisions, including demonetisation and those pertaining to farmers and youth, he said, adding the BJP has failed to provide a vision for the country going forward.
Asserting that the process of loan waiver for farmers will start as soon as Congress governments are formed, he, however, said the loan waiver is a measure, not a solution to farmers’ distress.
Gandhi was named to lead the Congress exactly a year ago and took over the charge from his mother Sonia Gandhi a few days later.
Rahul Gandhi also praised Congress workers and likened them to ‘babbar sher’ (lions).
Poll verdict rejection of BJP’s misrule and communal agenda — Left parties
Left parties on Tuesday said the results of the five assembly polls showed that the people had rejected “misrule” of the Narendra Modi government and called on democratic forces to unite to counter the BJP in the next year’s parliamentary elections. The Congress was on Tuesday set to wrest Rajasthan and Chattisgarh from the BJP which was trailing marginally in Madhya Pradesh in a cliffhanger while the TRS stormed back to power in Telangana and the MNF dislodged the Congress in Mizoram.
The CPI contested in around 40 seats in the five states and drawn a blank, while CPI(M) has wrested two seats from the BJP in Rajasthan.
“The election result of five states demonstrate that people have rejected BJP misrule and communal agenda of polarising the masses and anti-people economic policies. It is a verdict against arrogance and dictatorial rule of Narendra Modi”, S Sudhakar Reddy, general secretary, CPI told PTI. He appealed to “all secular, left and democratic forces to unite to defeat the BJP in the upcoming parliamentary election in 2019.”
D Raja, National Secretary, CPI said the results are blow to the BJP. “It is a vote against the BJP. The five states’ election results are blow to the BJP. BJP was in power in three states where polls were held. The verdict has shown that the people rejected the BJP for its misrule”, he said.
The CPI(M) on Tuesday said the imminent defeat of the BJP in the three Hindi heartland states was a clear indication of the people’s discontent with the Narendra Modi government.
“The defeat of the BJP in the elections to the state assemblies of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, is a clear indication of the people’s discontent and anger at the policies followed by the Modi government and the BJP state governments that have imposed unbearable burdens on the people,” said CPI(M) in a politburo statement.
The Left party said the results had shattered the myth of BJP’s electoral invincibility. “Instead of addressing the people’s issues, the BJP governments’ policies had only deepened people’s misery and tried to divert their attention into issues aimed at sharpening communal polarization,” the party said, adding that the attacks on Muslims and Dalits and the “atmosphere of hatred and violence” fostered to divide the people had been unsuccessful.
The party thanked people who have voted for its candidates in the five state elections and hailed the victory of two CPI(M) candidates in Shri Dungargarh and Bhadra in Rajasthan
The CPI(M)’s Balwan Poonia has won from the Bhadra constituency of Hanumangarh district while party leader Giridharilal Mahiya won in Shree Dungargarh constituency of Bikaner district. Both these seats were previously held by BJP. The CPI(M)’s Rajasthan in-charge Hannan Mollah said the trend of election results in the three states has ended the myth of the BJP’s invincibility.
“In the last two-three years of electoral politics, Modi-Shah combine emerged as invincible. It seemed no party could defeat the BJP under their leadership. This myth has been broken in this election,” said Mollah.
Mollah, who is also the general secretary of the CPI(M)’s farmers’ wing All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), said that farmers’ issues were crucial in the elections for the five states.
The BJP on Thursday said the results of five Assembly elections show that local factors determined the outcome in each state and the party will come back strongly in 2019 Lok Sabha elections with a result better than in 2014 due to “Modi factor”.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson G.V.L. Narasimha Rao told IANS that the results show that there is no uniform trend across the country.
“This is evident from the fact that even Congress suffered massive defeats in Mizoram and Telangana. Despite 15 years of anti-incumbency in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has put up a fight in Madhya Pradesh and has made a major comeback in Rajasthan,” he said.
He said the vote share of the BJP and the Congress in both Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan is almost identical and it “clearly shows that the BJP has the potential to come back with big victories in 2019 Lok Sabha polls”.
“Defeat in Chhattisgarh and a strong performance in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh reveals that the elections were fought on local factors. In Lok Sabha polls, BJP will increase its vote share because of Modi factor which will take it far ahead of the Congress. The party will post a bigger victory than in the 2014 polls,” he said.
The BJP will fight the 2019 Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The opposition has indicated that they will not project a prime ministerial candidate.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh resigned on Tuesday taking moral responsibility for the BJP’s stunning defeat in Assembly elections. He told the media that he had sent his resignation to the Governor.
“I take moral responsibility for the defeat,” Raman Singh, who was Chief Minister for 15 years, said as it became clear that the Congress was headed for a thumping victory in the 90-member Assembly. He said he would continue to serve the state while in the opposition ranks.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Tuesday night handed over her resignation to Governor Kalyan Singh here.
“Raje handed over the resignation to the Governor tonight,” a Raj Bhawan spokesperson said.
The Congress was heading towards victory in the desert state, winning 81 seats and leading in another 18 out of 199 seats.
The BJP was trailing with 67 seats in its kitty and leading in six others.