JOIN USThe win for the Congress and its allies was largely helped by the boycott of Opposition AIADMK and its partners in Tamil Nadu where the DMK bagged three seats—Cumbum, Burgur and Ilayankudi. The remaining two seats— Srivaikuntam and Thondamuthur—went to the Congress.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) put up a good show in Uttar Pradesh. It was a shot in the arm for Chief Minister Mayawati with the ruling party winning three seats—Moradabad, Malihabad and Bidhuna—while Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal retained Morena.
The Samajwadi Party suffered a setback in Uttar Pradesh as it not only failed to win a single seat but also yielded two to the BSP.
UPA holds sway
Fresh from a spectacular showing in the Lok Sabha elections, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, a United Progressive Alliance ally, continued to hold sway in West Bengal, winning both Bowbazar and Sealdah, earlier held by the Congress, which did not field any candidate this time.
In West Bengal Shikha Mitra and Swarno Kamal Saha (both Trinmaool) won the Sealdah and Bowbazar seats respectively.
In Tamil Nadu, actor-politician Vijaykant’s fledgling DMDK failed to live up to the image it sought to project as an alternative to the principal Dravidian parties — DMK and AIADMK — and had to be content with the second position in the Cumbum seat.
Friday’s victory has pushed up the DMK strength in the 234-member Assembly to 98 and that of the Congress, supporting it from outside, to 35.
DMK President and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi attributed the performance to the achievements of the UPA government and his ministry in the state.
He said the people had rejected the AIADMK’s boycott call and credited the victory to the hard work by his partymen.
DHNS and Agencies