Assembly Election Results 2018: Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath wrote to Governor Anandiben Patel late on Tuesday night, staking claim to form the government in the state, a party spokesperson said. The party claimed it has the support of the independent candidates also. "The Congress party has emerged as the single largest party with a majority support.
All the independents have in addition assured support to the Congress party," the letter said.
"As the president of Pradesh Congress Committee, I seek an appointment with your Excellency late tonight, as soon as the results are officially declared along with my senior leaders to apprise you and seek your permission to form government in the state of Madhya Pradesh," Nath said in the letter.
The governor’s office, however, has said that an appointment will be given only after the situation is made clear by the Election Commission, reported news agency ANI.
Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Congress for winning the Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh assembly elections and said the BJP accepts the people’s mandate with ""humility. adding that "victory and defeat are an integral part of life." The Congress swept Rajasthan and Chhhattisgarh, and is leading in Madhya Pradesh. It, however, lost Mizoram.
"We accept the people’s mandate with humility. I thank the people of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan for giving us the opportunity to serve these states. The BJP Governments in these states worked tirelessly for the welfare of the people," Modi tweeted.
He added: "The Congratulations to the Congress for their victories. Congratulations to KCR Garu for the thumping win in Telangana and to the Mizo National Front (MNF) for their impressive victory in Mizoram.
"The family of BJP Karyakartas worked day and night for the state elections. I salute them for their hardwork. Victory and defeat are an integral part of life. Today’s results will further our resolve to serve people and work even harder for the development of India."
Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the opposition is strongly united and will fight together in 2019 Lok Sabha election after his party's victories.
"This is a victory of Congress workers, small traders, farmers. This is a big responsibility for Congress party and we will work on this... We are going to provide these states a vision. We are going to provide these states a government that they can be proud of," Gandhi said at a press conference.
Gandhi said the ideology of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samajh Party (BSP) and the Congress is the same and is different from that of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "There will not be a big issue of Chief Minister face. It will be done smoothly," he added.
"The BJP has an ideology, we'll fight against it. We have defeated them today and we will do this again in 2019. But we don't want to erase anyone from the face of India."
When asked about issues on EVMs, Gandhi said: "As far as the EVMs are concerned, there are issues with them, universally. If the people in the country are uncomfortable with the EVM, then it's a big issue which needs to be addressed."
"But the central issue of EVM is still there, if the chip is manipulated you can affect the entire voting system, that's not possible with manual voting. This is a question that has been answered in the US&other countries, where they've said that we don't want an EVM," he said.
Gandhi also targeted Narendra Modi saying: "When the PM was elected to power, he was elected on three platforms—employment, corruption and farmers. It was in people's mind that the PM will fight against corruption. Now people think that PM Modi himself is corrupt."
In what is being touted as the run-up to the 2019 general elections, the Assembly election results, of the five states that are being declared on Tuesday, is turning out to be extremely interesting. The trends show that the Congress has got a clear majority in Chhattisgarh, while it is a neck-to-neck battle in Madhya Pradesh, where, the Congress has gained a majority. The Congress has managed to get past the halfway mark in Rajasthan.
Read More | Assembly Election Result Live Updates: BJP makes a comeback in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Congress sweeps Chhattisgarh
Outgoing chief minister Vasundhara Raje on Tuesday night said she is proud of the development work done by her government and respects the mandate of the people. Raje, who submitted her resignation to Governor Kalyan Singh at Raj Bhawan in Jaipur, congratulated the Congress party. She said that the BJP will raise people's issues in the state assembly and will play a positive role for public welfare.
"I am proud of the development works done by the BJP government in five years and believe that the upcoming government will continue the works and projects," Raje said in a statement. She thanked the people of the state, BJP workers, the prime minister and the BJP chief, saying they stood by her as family. "Raje handed over her resignation to the Governor tonight,? a Raj Bhawan spokesperson said.
K Chandrashekhar Rao has struck gold in Telangana and is set to return as the chief minister for a second term. K Chandrashekhar Rao has won from the Gajwel constituency by over 50,000 votes. The results in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are likely to have an impact on the elections due early next year.
Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla has lost from Serchhip and Champai South seats. He was facing a tough battle in Mizoram this time from Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) nominee Lalduhoma in the former’s home turf Serchhip. The veteran leader has been the chief minister of the north-eastern state since the past 10 years. Former chief minister and MNF president Zoramthanga won from Aizawl East-I seat against ZPM’s K Sapdanga. The ZPM is an alliance formed by two political parties and four groups.
A Congress victory in these states will be a huge morale booster for the party led by Rahul Gandhi since the BJP swept to power taking the Congress down to its lowest number of seats in Parliament ever. The Congress president has always been in the receiving end of Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah’s jibes for a series of debacles in state elections since the 2014 general elections. On the other hand, the BJP is battling a strong anti-incumbency in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Election Results 2018: BJP below majority mark, Congress ahead in 108 seats
In Rajasthan, Congress leader Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot won from Sardarpura in Jodhpur and Tonk, respectively. Raje also won from her constituency Jhalarapatan. She fought against Congress candidate Manvendra Singh.
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Even as the Congress is looking to sweep the Hindi heartland, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the polls were fought on the basis of the performance of state governments, rejecting the notion that the results would be a reflection on the Narendra Modi government. He also pointed out the Congress-led grand alliance was heading to a “huge defeat” in Telangana, where the TRS retained power with a big majority. Talking to reporters outside Parliament, he also offered his congratulations to all the winning parties and candidates.
BJP-ally Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that the BJP should introspect. " won't say these are victories of Congress but this is an anger of the people. Self-reflection is needed."
In line with exit polls, the Congress is set to come back after a five-year gap in Rajasthan. And in a reversal of trends, the Congress overtook the BJP in both Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where the later has ruled for 15 years. A majority of the exit polls had also predicted the Telangana Rashtra Samiti will retain the state and the electorate will boot out the 10-year-old Congress government in Mizoram.
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