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Congress setback in key India Uttar Pradesh polls | Congress setback in key India Uttar Pradesh polls |
(about 1 hour later) | |
India's governing Congress party is trailing in fourth place as votes are counted in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. | |
The regional Samajwadi Party is leading in 198 of 400 seats for which counts are available. The state has 403 seats. | |
Congress also looks set to lose in Punjab, while it is engaged in a neck-and-neck contest in Uttarakhand state. | Congress also looks set to lose in Punjab, while it is engaged in a neck-and-neck contest in Uttarakhand state. |
The state polls are being seen as a litmus test ahead of the national elections in 2014. | |
They are also seen as a test for the Congress party-led central government, whose credibility has been eroded in recent months over a series of corruption allegations. | |
Manipur and Goa are the other states where counting is going on. | Manipur and Goa are the other states where counting is going on. |
Blow to Congress | Blow to Congress |
The most crucial of the state elections has been in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, which has more than 200 million people. | The most crucial of the state elections has been in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, which has more than 200 million people. |
Uttar Pradesh politics has been dominated in recent years by Mayawati, a low-caste Dalit who heads the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and has had four terms as chief minister. | Uttar Pradesh politics has been dominated in recent years by Mayawati, a low-caste Dalit who heads the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and has had four terms as chief minister. |
After all the hype about Rahul Gandhi leading a resurrection of the Congress party in Uttar Pradesh, the poll results there and in Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand can only be termed as a major setback for the party's national fortunes. | |
A victory in Manipur can't make up for the setbacks in the other states. | |
The trends from Uttar Pradesh also indicate a major groundswell of support for Mulayam Singh Yadav and the Samajwadi Party, which looks set to return to power after a gap of five years. | |
The defeat of Chief Minister Mayawati and her Bahujan Samaj Party clearly indicates that she alienated many voters during her tenure. | |
The Congress party's inability to capture power in Punjab and the ding-dong battle with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttarakhand are not a good sign for Congress, which looked upon the five state assembly elections as an event that could have set a positive tone for the Lok Sabha polls in 2014. | |
The BJP and its allies have done well in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa, but the party has come a cropper in Uttar Pradesh. | |
It will maintain good company with Congress as the two parties slug it out for the number three and four slots in Uttar Pradesh. | |
Her main challenger for state power is Mulayam Singh Yadav, who heads the Samajwadi Party. It mainly represents the interests of a caste grouping called the Other Backward Classes. | |
The Samajwadi Party is leading in 198 of 400 seats for which vote counts are available, while the ruling BSP leads in 98 seats. | |
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress party were leading in 48 and 29 seats respectively. | |
Correspondents say the counts in Uttar Pradesh will come as a blow to the Congress party. | |
"The results are shocking. We are disappointed," the state's Congress party chief, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, told reporters. | "The results are shocking. We are disappointed," the state's Congress party chief, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, told reporters. |
The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh, says massive crowds have gathered outside the Samajwadi Party headquarters, singing, dancing and lighting firecrackers. | The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh, says massive crowds have gathered outside the Samajwadi Party headquarters, singing, dancing and lighting firecrackers. |
The supporters are chanting Mr Yadav's name, demanding that he become the new chief minister, our correspondent says. | |
In Punjab, the incumbent regional Shrimoni Akali Dal-BJP alliance has won 33 and is leading in 30 seats. Punjab has 117 seats. | |
The Congress party has won 25 and is leading in another 23 seats. | |
Uttarakhand is seeing a neck-and-neck contest, where the ruling BJP has won two seats and is leading in another 28, while Congress is ahead in 31 seats. Uttarakhand has 70 seats. | |
In Goa, the BJP has won 10 seats and is leading in another five. Congress has won four and is ahead in two seats. Goa has 40 seats. | |
Congress is doing well in the north-eastern state of Manipur - it has won 13 seats and is leading in nine seats for which counts are available. The state has 60 seats. | |
The month-long elections were held in a total of 690 assembly seats. | The month-long elections were held in a total of 690 assembly seats. |