Assembly Elections 2018: Left - which got lesser votes than NOTA - blame BJP's misrule for verdict

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 blown to the BJP. "It is a vote against the BJP.

The five states' election results are blown 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.

"BJP loss in the Hindi-heartland was due to farmers' distress in rural areas. The saffron party has been turned down by farmers and those living in rural areas," he claimed.

The CPI(M) leader said that in the next year's Lok Sabha election, farmers and rural distress would be one of the key poll issues. 

The  NOTA or none of the above option appeared to have outperformed several political parties, including the AAP and Samajwadi Party, which contested the assembly polls in the five states.

According to the Election Commission's website at 8 pm on Tuesday, the NOTA votes ranged as high as 2.1 per cent in Chhattisgarh to 0.5 per cent in Mizoram.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which fielded its candidates on 85 seats out of 90 seats in Chhattisgarh, got 0.9 per cent of votes while NOTA votes were 2.1 per cent of the counted votes in the state.

Samajwadi Party and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) got 0.2 per cent votes each in Chhattisgarh. The Communist Party of India (CPI) got 0.3 per cent votes in the state.

In Madhya Pradesh, NOTA votes were 1.5 per cent of the total counted votes. Samajwadi Party got 1.01 per cent while AAP got 0.7 per cent votes.

The NOTA votes in Rajasthan elections were 1.3 per cent. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and SP got 1.2 per cent and 0.2 per cent votes respectively.

The AAP and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) received 0.4 per cent and 0.3 per cent votes each in the state.

In Telangana assembly polls, NOTA got 1.1 per cent of votes while NCP got 0.1 per cent of votes. The CPI(M) polled 0.4 per cent votes while CPI received 0.4 per cent votes.

In Mizoram, NOTA got 0.5 per cent of votes while People's Represent for Identity and Status of Mizoram (PRISM) got 0.2 per cent of votes.

The Bharatiya Janata Party was behind its main rival Congress in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. It was locked in a close contest with the opposition party in Madhya Pradesh.