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November 28, 1998

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Congress wins majority in MP

An exit poll had predicted a victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Madhya Pradesh, but on Sunday, it was the Congress that emerged triumphant.

With all but 17 results to the 320-member assembly declared, the ruling Congress party had won 164 seats and is comfortably ahead in nine others. The BJP is a distant second with 114 seats and likely to end up with 119 MLAs, far short of the exit poll's projections.

The Bahujan Samaj Party has won 11 seats, matching its strength in the outgoing assembly. It is comfortably ahead in two other seats. Independents and other parties have emerged victorious in 14 constituencies. An Independent is leading in one seat.

Several top BJP leaders, including former chief minister Kailash Joshi and Vikram Verma, leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, were humbled at the hustings.

After winning 220 assembly constituencies in February's general election, most of the party's traditional strongholds fell to the Congress. The BJP could win only 45 per cent of the seats in Chhattisgarh (where it expected to win most of the region's 90 seats), 35 per cent of the seats in Madhya Bharat and 43 per cent of the seats in the Mahakaushal region. Only in the Gwalior and Vindyachal regions did the BJP do better than the Congress.

In Chhattisgarh, the Congress secured 46 of the 90 seats while the BJP was far behind with 33 seats.

The Congress captured 124 of the 230 at stake outside the Chhattisgarh region as against the BJP's 103.

Old Bhopal was the only region in the state where the BJP secured better results. The BJP won eight of the 12 seats in the state capital and its adjoining areas. The Congress won four, wresting two pretigious seats -- Bhopal North and Bhopal South -- from the BJP.

The region-wise break-up shows that the Congress won 58 of the total 99 seats in the Madhya Bharat region, against 33 by the BJP, six by the Bahujan Samaj Party and two by others.

In the Mahakaushal region, the ruling Congress bagged 45 of the total 76 seats at stake. The BSP failed to open its account in the region. The Congress captured 17 of the 43 seats in the Vindhya region, against 15 by the BJP.

Just two per cent of the vote separated the BJP from the Congress -- 41 to 39 per cent -- but in Madhya Pradesh, a one per cent swing is enough to ensure victory.

The Congress required 161 seats to retain control of the 320-member assembly. Having passed that mark on its own, the Congress will have no need for the BSP and Independents who could have emerged as power-brokers had the party failed to win 161 seats.

Chief Minister Digvijay Singh had forcefully argued against an alliance with the BSP, proposed by his adversaries in the party like Arjun Singh and Madhavrao Scindia, both of whom saw reverses this time in their chosen areas of influence, Vindyachal and Gwalior respectively.

Having won 55 per cent of the seats in Chhattisgarh, which is eligible for statehood shortly, the Congress will form a governments not only in Bhopal, but also in Raipur, the prospective capital of the new state. Ironically, the BJP's slogan this election was 'one vote, two governments.'

The BJP's dismal performance is a setback to party president Shashikant 'Kushabhau' Thakre and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, both of whom belong to the state.

The anti-incumbency factor, which the BJP was counting on heavily, did not work in the state. This, political analysts feel, is because the Congress negated it by refusing tickets to many sitting MLAs who did not have a 'positive image'. The BJP, on the other hand, awarded tickets to many of its sitting MLAs -- "this went against us," BJP general secretary Narendra Modi, the man in charge of the party's campaign in MP, told a television interviewer on Saturday night.

Says Congress spokesperson Ajit Jogi, himself an MP from MP, "We decided tickets would be given only to good candidates, to those with a positive image. As a result, we see that the anti-incumbency factor, which hit the BJP in Rajasthan and Delhi, has not affected us here."

Asked why the BJP had failed to capitalise on its 'one vote, two governments' slogan -- the promise to create a separate state of Chhattisgarh -- Jogi said, "The voter has realised that as long as the BJP is in power at the Centre, it will not take any step in that direction. Whatever has been done for the creation of Chhattisgarh has been done by the Congress, not the BJP."

Another reason, analysts point out, could be that the people had little faith in the promise, despite the reiterations of Vajpayee and Union Home Minister L K Advani. Congress politicians, expectedly, are all for this view.

Said Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Salman Khurshid, "The BJP is in power in Uttar Pradesh, but has done nothing for the creation of Uttarakhand. That is one indication the voters would have taken into consideration."

A smiling Digvijay Singh, for his part, was confident that he would continue as head of the government. "I am the natural choice," he told one television interviewer.

Speaking about a separate Chhattisgarh, he said his government was all for it. "We have done our bit. Now it is up to the government in Delhi."

The Congress victory has firmly established Digvijay Singh as the undisputed leader in a state, which has many powerful leaders, Arjun Singh, Kamal Nath, Madhavrao Scindia, Motilal Vora, Shyama Charan Shukla and Vidya Charan Shukla. Having struggled through internal turbulence for much of his first tenure in power, Digvijay Singh may expect more calm this time around.

Constituency

Winner

Loser

Margin (votes)

Ambikapur

Madan Gopal Singh (Cong)

Kamal Bhan Singh (BJP)

15,887

Sironj

Laxmikant Sharma (BJP)

Mahtab Singh Yadav (Cong)

20, 924

Harda

Kamal Patel (BJP)

Anil Patel (Cong)

14,069

Jabalpur Central

Omkar Prasad Tiwari (BJP)

Lalit Shrivastava (Cong)

5,555

Jashpur

Vikram Bhagat (BJP)

Ramdev Bhagat (BJP)

11,519

Pandurna

Suresh Jhalke (Cong)

Marot Rao Khamse (BJP)

6,887

Sihawa

Madhav Singh Dhurve (Cong)

Gujar Singh Markam (BJP)

1,762

Chourai

Choudhary Gambir Singh (Cong)

Pandit Ramesb Dubey (BJP)

8,057

Umaria

Pratap Singh (Cong)

Mithilesh Prasad Mishra (BJP)

7,536

Patan

Sobaran Singh (BJP)

Raghuraj Singh (Cong)

23,994

Chank (ST)

Phul Singh (BJP)

Nanhe Lal Dhurve (Congress)

1,507

Pilkha (ST)

Prem Sai (Cong)

Ram Sevak Pekra (BJP)

1,198

Narasinghpur

Ajay Mushkaran (Cong)

Uttam Chand Lunawat (BJP)

2,863

Samri

Sohanlal (BJP)

Mohanti Bhagat (Cong)

3,817

Basoda

Vir Singh Raghuvanshi (Cong)

Devendra Verma (BJP)

7,583

Kurud

Ajay Chandrakar (BJP)

Bhuleshwari Deepa Sahu (Cong)

1,184

Naurojabad

Shakuntala Prasad (Cong)

Meena Singh (BJP)

3,718

Rampur

Nanki Ram Manwar (BJP)

Sarman Singh Kanwar (Ind)

31,063

Chanpa

Narayan Prasad (BJP)

Motilal Devangan (Cong)

6,679

Tapkara (ST)

Nand Kumar Sai (BJP)

Ishwar Sai (Cong)

10,734

Vidisha

Sushila Devi Thakur (BJP)

Basant Jain (Cong)

8,015

Vidisha

Sushila Devi Thakur (BJP)

Basant Jain (Cong)

8,015

Khilchipur

Hajari Lal Dangi (Cong)

Kanhaiya Lal Dangi (BJP)

10,128

Sehore

Ramesh Saxena (BJP)

Jashpal Singh Arora (Congress)

13,162

Surajpur

Bhanu Pratap Singh (Cong)

Shiv Pratap Singh (BJP)

199

Jamai

Tejilal Saryam (Cong)

Mansaram Badiva (BJP)

19,967

Bhanpuri

Anturam Kashyap (Cong)

Chandra Shekhar Kashyap (BJP)

4,500

Astha

Ranjit Singh Gunwan (BJP)

Bapulal Malviya (Cong)

8,060

Chanki (ST)

Sanjeev Shah (BJP)

Govardhan Netam (Cong)

11,956

Barwah

Jagdish Morania (Cong)

Chandrakant Gupta (BJP)

2,486

Saunser

Revnath Chourey (Cong)

Ram Rao Mahale (BJP)

7,366

Jagdalpur

Jithuram Baghel (Cong)

Lakshewar Baghel (BJP)

4,000

Harsud (ST)

Vijay Shah (BJP)

Kishorelal Patel (Cong)

23, 087

Pichore

K P Singh (Cong)

Bhaiye Saheb (BJP)

14, 748

Khargone

Parasram Dandir (Cong)

Chandra Shekhar Naik (BJP)

3,516

Kasrawad

Subhash Yadav (Cong)

Dashrath Singh Patel (BJP)

21, 478

Majholi

Ajay Vishnoi (BJP)

Ramkumar Patel (Cong)

20,172

Sarangpur (SC)

Mohan Malviya (Cong)

Keshri Narayan Singh (BJP)

2,071

Khargapur (SC)

Parwatlal Ahirwar (BJP)

Brindavan Ahirwar (Cong)

5,101

Shivpuri

Yasodhara Scindia (BJP)

Harivallav Shukla (Cong)

7,300

Dabra

Narottam Mishra (BJP)

Shrilal Baghel (BSP)

3,737

Gohad (SC)

Lal Singh Arya (BJP)

Chaturilal Barahdiya (BSP)

4,338

Lundra

Ram Dev (Cong)

Vijayanath Singh (BJP)

14,670

Mhow

Attar Singh (Cong)

Bherulal Patidar (BJP)

10,515

Kategaon

Brajmohan Dhoot (BJP)

Kailash Kundal (Cong)

1,940

Patharia (SC)

Ganesh Katik (BJP)

Ram Kishore (Cong)

215

Sitapur (ST)

Gopal Ram (Ind)

Phool Sai (Cong)

3,824

Masturi (SC)

Madan Singh Deharia (BJP)

Banshilal Dhritlahare (Cong)

5,118

Maro

Dehru Prasad (Cong rebel)

--

--

Sanchi (SC)

Gauri Shankar Shejwar (BJP)

Prabhuram Choudhari (Congress)

3,190

Morar

Dhyanendra Singh (BJP)

Ramvaran Singh (Congress)

17,761

Mahasamund

Agni Chandrakar (Cong)

Amrat Sahu (BJP)

3,108

Sipat

Rameshwar Khare (Cong)

Pandit Ramnarayan Shastri (BJP)

2,326

Dondilohara

Domendra Bhedia (Cong)

Janaklal Thakur (BJP)

5,098

Dantewara (ST)

Chirdhabhai Dawar (Cong)

Dalsingh Ram Singh Solanki (BJP)

7,472

Dhoolkot (ST)

Chirdhabhai Dawar (Cong)

Dalsingh Ram Singh Solanki (BJP)

7,472

Takhatpur (ST)

Jagjeet Singh Mukkarh (BJP)

Balram Singh (Cong)

144

Shadora (SC)

Gopilal Jatav (BJP)

Khushal Chand Ahirwar (Cong)

14,045

Chachoda

Shiv Narain Meena (Cong)

Devendra Singh (BJP)

13,075

Narainpur (ST)

Mantu Ram Pawar (Cong)

Vikram Singh Ushendi (BJP)

900

Bhanuppatappur

Manoj Singh Mandavi (Cong)

Devlal Dugga (BJP)

2,500

Gunder Dehi

Dhanaram Sahu (Cong)

Dayaram Sahu (BJP)

8,295

Nimarkhedi

Rajnarayan Singh (Cong)

Raghuraj Singh Tomar (BJP)

6,181

Alot (SC)

Manohar Dotwal (BJP)

Ganga Ram Sindhe (Cong)

3,595

Ratlam City

Himmat Kothari (BJP)

Shiv Kumar Jhalani (Cong)

6,926

Ratlam Rural

Motilal Dave (Cong)

Dhulji Choudhari (BJP)

2,669

Basna

Mahendra Bahadur Singh (Cong)

Trivikram Bhoi (BJP)

7,046

Kurwai (SC)

Raghuveer Singh (Cong)

Chironjilal Sonkar

2,826

Bagli

Shyam Holant

Kailash Joshi

6,691

Saja

Ravindra Choure (Cong)

R D Patel (BJP)

24, 300

Suwasara

Pushpa Bharti (Cong)

Jagdish Devrha (BJP)

24, 300

Sitamau

Bharat Singh Jawra (Cong)

Nanalal Patidar (BJP)

779

Amarwara

Prem Narayan Thakur (Cong)

Judhia Prasad Bhalari (BJP)

6,994

Pohri

Narendra Birthare (BJP)

Vaijanti Verma (Cong)

800

Bemetara

Mahesh Tiwari (BJP)

Dr Bhetan Singh Verma (Cong)

2672

Marwahi (ST)

Ramdayal Uike (BJP)

Pahalwan Singh (Cong)

12,297

Shujalpur

Kedar Singh Mandlot (Cong)

Nema Chand Jain (BJP)

12,935

Dewas

Yuvraj Tukojirao (Cong)

Choudhari Ratanlal (BJP)

6,103

Kotma

Jaising Maravi (BJP)

Bhagvandeen (Cong)

10,000

Mandsaur

Navkrishnan (Cong)

Kailash Chawla (BJP)

9,538

Jarhhagaon

Chouvadas Khamdekar (BJP)

Churan Mangeshkar (Cong)

2,700

Kanker

Shyama Dhurve (BJP)

Shiv Netam (Cong)

---

Keshloor (ST)

Bhursu Ram Nag (Cong)

Samund Sai Kach (BJP)

4,500

Chitrakoot (ST)

Pratibha Sah (Cong)

Meena Bai (BJP)

3,000

Gwalior

Narendra Singh Tomar(BJP)

Ashok Sharma (Ind)

26,358

Alipajpur (ST)

Magan Singh Patel

Dhe Dhu Bhai (BJP)

7,385

Bhanpuri (ST)

Anturam Kashyap (Cong)

Chandra Shekhar Kashyap (BJP)

4,500

Lashkar East

Ramesh Agrawal (Cong)

Vivek Shejwalkar (BJP)

300

Lashkar West

Anoop Mishra (BJP)

Bhagwan Singh Yadav (Cong)

2,546

Bhopal North

Arif Aqeel (Cong)

Ramesh Sharma (BJP)

16, 857

Agar (SC)

Ram Lal Malviya (Cong)

Gopal Parmar (BJP)

15, 817

Raghogarh

Digvijay Singh (Cong)

Chanchal Kumar Jain (BJP)

15, 817

Kolarash

Pooran Singh Bediya (Cong)

Omprakash Khatik (BJP)

2,977

Garoth

Subhash Kumar Sojatia (Cong)

Radheyshyam Mandliya (BJP)

21, 286

Additional reportage: UNI

Assembly Election '98

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