Left riding high in WB and Kerala; DMK in TN

 

 

   
NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India-Marxists-led Left Democratic Front on Thursday wrested power in Kerala and retained it for a record seventh time in West Bengal, while Tamil Nadu appeared headed for a coalition for the first time in 50 years.
   
The northeastern state of Assam too appeared set for a coalition led by the Congress, which also looked to retain power in the Union Territory of Pondicherry.

 

In the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha bye-election, Congress President Sonia Gandhi defeated her nearest Samajwadi Party rival Raj Kumar Chowdhury by more than four lakh votes.
   
The LDF in Kerala secured a majority in the 140-member assembly by winning 98 of the 140 Assembly seats, while the ruling Left Front in West Bengal too was in a commanding position under the leadership of Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya, leading in 222 seats of the 293-member assembly.

 

The Congress and its allies appeared set to form government in Pondicherry, where they were ahead in 20 seats of the 30-member assembly.

 

The Congress also emerged the single largest party in Assam's 126-member assembly, being ahead in 54 seats as against 22 seats for the Asom Gana Parishad and 49 for others.

 

The DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu, where the election was marked by "freebies" offered by rival sides, was leading in 164 seats in the 234-member assembly.

 

Octogenarian Karunanidhi, who started his campaign late as compared to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, was able to reach out to the masses more effectively despite MDMK chief Vaiko deserting the DPA at the eleventh hour.

 

 

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu is well on its way to have its first coalition ministry, with the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance gaining leads in 150 constituencies.
    
The DPA had established leads in 150 of the 234 seats. The DMK, leading in 89 seats, is likely to emerge as the single largest party. Its ally, the Congress, was leading in 30 seats, PMK in 18, CPI in seven and the CPI in five seats.

 

The ruling AIADMK with leads only in 71 seats is losing power in the state, while its allies, the MDMK and DPA, were leading in nine and two seats each.

 

With DMK unlikely to get a majority on its own, a coalition ministry is imminent in the state, political observers feel.

 

In previous elections, Tamil Nadu had decisively voted in favour of a single party.

 

Though a complete picture on the outcome of the elections is yet to emerge, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M Karunanidhi thanked the people for voting to power the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance.
  
A visibly jubilant Mr Karunanidhi told a television channel that he was happy over the trends, which indicated that the DPA would romp home to victory.
  
“My thanks to all, the people who voted for the DPA, the alliance party leaders and volunteers of the DMK and other allies, who worked hard for the victory of the DPA,” he said.

 

 

Total seats: 234
Results declared: 234

DMK Alliance
DMK        : 96
Cong        : 34     
PMK         :18     
CPI-M       :09     
CPI            :06     

---------

AIADMK Alliance

AIADMK : 61
MDMK   : 06    
DPI         : 02    
-------------------------------------

DMDK : 01
Ind       : 01

 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) wrested power in Kerala on Thursday winning 98 of the 140 Assembly seats to which elections were held in three phases on April 22 and 29 and May 3.

 

The United Democratic Front (UDF) headed by the Congress could win only 42 seats with several of its leaders losing the electoral  battle.

The BJP, which contested almost all the seats, drew a blank  despite the party's all-out efforts to open account in the Assembly.

The Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran), a breakaway faction of the Congress, also suffered major setbacks even though it fought the elections with a tie-up with the UDF.

Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Assembly V S Achuthanandan, LDF convener Paloli Mohammed Kutty,  CPI(M) Central Committee members M A Baby, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and P K Sreemathi, Kerala Congress  (Joseph) Chairman P J Joseph, Congress (S) President Kadannappally Ramachandran and CPI state council member Binoy Viswam, were among the prominent LDF leaders who won the elections.

Achuthanandan, the probable next Chief Minister, was re-elected from Malampuzha in Palakkad district with a margin of 20,017 votes over his Congress rival Satheesan Pacheni.

Even though Chief Minister Oommen Chandy won the election from his home turf of Puduppally in Kottayam district with a record margin of 19,863 votes, several of his Cabinet colleagues tasted defeats. They include K R  Gouriamma, E T Mohammed Basheer, Dr M K Muneer, Babu Divakaran, A Sujanapal and C F Thomas.

The defeat of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) General Secretary P K Kunhalikutty at the hands of a CPI (M)-backed independent in Kuttippuram was one of the major setbacks for the UDF. 

 

Other UDF veterans rejected by the voters, include UDF Convener P P Thankachan and Kerala Congress (B) leader R Balakrishna Pillai. Reacting to the poll outcome, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the UDF debacle was unexpected.

The UDF accepts the people's verdict and will discharge its duties as responsible Opposition, he told  mediapersons in Kottayam.   Achuthanandan said in Palakkad that poll results reflected the people's sentiments against the ‘anti-people policies' of theOommen Chandy government and he promised a clean administration by the LDF.

 

The DIC(K) which fought the election by making a tie-up with the UDF could win only one seat out of 18 it had contested. Its president K Muraleedharan suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of a LDF-backed independent in the UDF stronghold of Koduvally.

 

 

Elections held: 140
Left Democratic Front
CPI(M): 61
CPI: 17
JD(S): 5
RSP: 3
NCP: 1
KC (Joseph): 4
KC (Secular): 1
Congress (S): 1
INL: 1
LDF-Ind: 4

 

-------------------------
LDF total: 98
-------------------------

 

United Democratic Front

 

Congress: 24
IUML: 7
KC(M): 7
KC(B): 1
DIC(K): 1
JSS: 1
CMP:
UDF-Ind: 1
-------------------------
UDF total: 42
-------------------------

 

Total declared: 140

 

 

KOLKATA: Defying all laws of incumbency, the Left coalition is all set for a record seventh consecutive term in West Bengal after winning an absolute majority with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee leading from the front.

 

''It is our victory,'' Mr Bhattacharjee said, soon after winning the Jadavpur seat by a margin of over 58,000 votes. Nine of his cabinet colleagues also emerged victorious though three ministers were humbled as results of the just-concluded marathon five-phase assembly polls poured in.

 

The CPI(M)-led Left Front registered wins in 187 of 235 seats declared.

 

The Trinamool Congress came a distant second with 23 seats while the Congress bagged 21. The RJD, backed by the Left Front, opened its account by wresting the city's Burrabazar seat from the Trinamool Congress.
  
Transport Minister Subhash Chakraborty, who often made headlines for the wrong reasons, scraped through in a close contest to retain his Belgachhia (East) seat by 1,800 votes.

 

Urban Development Minister Ashok Bhattacharjee, Animal Resource Development Minister Anisur Rahman, Employment and ESI Minister Susanta Ghosh, Civil Defence Minister Srikumar Mukherjee, Fisheries Minister Kirnamoy Nanda, Food Processing Minister Sailen Sarkar and Ministers of State Bilasibala Sahis and Nayan Sarkar were the other winners.

 

The Front received a jolt as veteran Labour Minister Mohammad Amin was defeated by the Congress' little-known  Abdul Khaled Mollah from Garden Reach, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prabodh Chandra Sinha was humbled by Trinamool's Sisir Adhikary from Egra and Relief Minister Hafiz Alam Sairani lost his Goalpokhar seat to Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi's wife Deepa Dasmunsi, who contested as a Congress candidate.

 

The other prominent losers were Congress Legislature Party leader Atish Chandra Sinha, who fought against a rebel candidate put up by party MP Adhir Chowdhury in Kandi, his party colleague and former city Mayor Subrata Mukherjee, CPI(M) chief whip Rabin Deb and veteran Trinamool Congress leader Ambika Roy.
.
   

 

Total seats: 294    
Elections held: 293      
Declared: 139
Left Front: 106
CPI(M): 78
CPI: 04
AIFB: 17
RSP: 5
WBSP: 2

 

Trinamool-BJP alliance:  15
Trinamool Cong: 15

 

INC: 12
Others: 6
GNLF: 3
RJD: 1
Ind: 2

 

 

 

PONDICHERRY: The Congress-led Democratic Progressive Alliance has retained power in the Union Territory of Pondicherry, winning 17 of the 25 seats declared by 1 pm.

 

With the AIADMK combine winning nine seats till 1 pm, even if they emerge victorious in all five remaining seats, they cannot overtake the DPA tally.
  
There are 30 seats in the territorial assembly in the enclaves of Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe.
    
So far, the Congress had won eight seats, followed by its ally the DMK with six seats. The PMK had secured three seats.

 

As for the rival AIADMK-led Democratic People's Alliance, the AIADMK had managed to secure only three seats. The Puducherry Munnetra Congress of former Congressman P Kannan, has won three seats, but its leader Kannan has not made it to the assembly.

 

Two seats have been taken by Independents.

 

The MDMK, an AIADMK ally, has made its presence felt in the Union Territory for the first time by winning one seat.

 

Final party position

 

Elections held: 30
Congress-led Front
Congress: 10
DMK: 7
PMK: 2
CPI: 1
-----------------         
Total: 20
------------------

 

AIADMK-led Front

 

AIADMK: 3
MDMK: 1
PMC: 3
-----------------
Total: 7
-----------------

 

Independents: 3

 

GUWAHATI: With half of the results of the 126 Assam assembly constituencies already declared, the ruling Congress surged way ahead of its rival AGP cornering 33 seats even as it awaited the results from its traditional bastions in Upper Assam to emerge as the largest party in the state.

 

The AGP could so far win only eight seats. The BJP cut a sorry figure managing only to win one seat while the newly formed AUDF, a minority party, bagged five seats in its maiden venture.

The AUDF is expected to play a pivotal role in case of a hung house. The Independents who are mostly from the Bodo dominated areas and had understanding with the Congress prior to the polls, are also likely to play a decisive role in government formation. They have won 11 seats.

Prominent among the ruling party winners are Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi who romped home with an impressive margin of 42,501 votes while his number two in the council of ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma battered him by a margin of 45,000 votes.

 

AGP president and chief ministerial candidate Brindaban Goswami won his Tezpur home constituency while he was lagging behind at Borcholla.

His party suffered a setback with heavy weights such as Joii Nath Sarma, Hitendra Nath Goswami and Birendra Prasad Baishya biting the dust.

.

 

 

Total seats :   126
Election held : 126
Results declared - 81
INC - 34
AGP - 13
BJP-  09

AGP (P)- 1
ASDC- 1
AUDF- 5
CPI- 1
Ind-  16.

 

 

JAIPUR: The Bharatiya Janata Party's Divya Singh on Thursday won the Deeg assembly bypoll, defeating her nearest Congress rival Laxman Singh by a margin of 6,817 votes.
 
Divya Singh, a scion of Bharatpur royal family, got 33,137 votes, while Laxman Singh polled 26,320 votes, an election official said.

 

The bypoll was necessitated following the death of Independent Arun Kumar in March.