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| BJP creates history in Karnataka, Congress humbled all over | | | Bangalore | May 25
After decades of waiting, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday scripted history as it dramatically bagged top honours in the Karnataka election to rule a state in south India on its own strength for the first time.
In the process, the BJP dealt a major blow to the Congress, which also suffered huge defeats in all three Lok Sabha by-elections for which results were declared Sunday. BJP's prime ministerial candidate LK Advani promptly claimed that 2008 would prove to be a year of change in politics for India, where a new parliamentary election is due next year.
As if losing Karnataka was not bad enough, the Congress was trounced in the Lok Sabha seats of Thane in Maharashtra (by Shiv Sena), Tura in Meghalaya (by Nationalist Congress Party) and Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh (by BJP). In Punjab, the ruling Akali Dal won the Amritsar-south assembly seat. In Haryana, the Congress won two of the three assembly by-elections but failed to prevent former chief minister Bhajan Lal, its former leader, from winning the Adampur seat for the 10th consecutive time.
But it was the failure to regain power in Karnataka and, worse, the loss of its former bastion to the BJP in a decisive way that stunned the Congress. One leader frankly admitted he had no idea what had gone wrong while another, speaking off the record, said party president Sonia Gandhi too was to blame for the mess in Karnataka.
The BJP, which tasted power for just a week in November last year before being toppled by the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), swept large parts of Karnataka to end up with 110 seats - just short of the magical figure of 113 needed to form a government. This was a significant rise from the 79 seats it bagged in 2004 when too it became the largest single group but could not take power.
The Congress bagged 80 seats, up from 65 in 2004. The biggest loser was the JD-S, whose tally fell to 28 from 58 in 2004. Independents and smaller groups claimed six seats.
BJP's chief ministerial aspirant B.S. Yediyurappa, 65, said he would call on the governor Monday to stake claim to form a government. He said some independents were in touch with his party and would extend support to the BJP.
"We have not won a clear majority but the verdict is for a BJP government," he said.
A Hindu nationalist who began his political career as an activist of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at the age of 23, Yediyurappa is not without his enemies in his party. Friends say that he often visits temples and mutts seeking blessings. He also consults astrologers frequently.
The election result in Karnataka was a milestone in Indian politics. For the first time, the BJP, which for decades had been dubbed a 'north India party', would form a government in any of the four major southern states.
In New Delhi, Advani underlined the importance of the Karnataka verdict.
"After the BJP's decisive victories in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh towards the end of 2007, I had stated that 2008 would turn out to be a 'Year of Change' in national politics. My affirmation has been vindicated by the triumphant performance of the BJP in Karnataka," he said in a statement.
And BJP president Rajnath Singh claimed separately that the Karnataka victory had made his party the front-runner for the next Lok Sabha battle. "It is a major milestone in BJP's history."
Karnataka Polls 2008
Parties Won
BJP 110
Congress 80
JD(S) 28
Independent 6
Others 0
Total 224/224 |
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