AUTO REFRESH ON FM Arun Jaitley on Assembly elections results: "The election issue really will be, do we need a tried and tested leadership and govt in place or we want some kind of an unstable non-ideological coalition which is bound to splinter away sooner than later." FM Arun Jaitley: The election issue really will be, do we need a tried and tested leadership and govt in place or we want some kind of an unstable non-ideological coalition which is bound to splinter away sooner than later. pic.twitter.com/23xXaNxva0 — ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018
Election results 2018 LIVE: Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan were set to go to the Congress, while the opposition party was also ahead in Madhya Pradesh after several rounds of counting. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) was headed for a landslide victory in Telangana, while results for Mizoram were declared and the Mizo National Front (MNF) emerged as the victor.
In Telangana, the TRS was set for a landslide victory, having won 21 seats and leading in 66 seats. The Congress and its allies had won 4 seats and were leading in 16 seats. The BJP was leading in 1 seat. Other parties had won 3 seats and were leading in 8 seats.
In Rajasthan, the Congress and its allies were headed for a victory, having won 16 seats and leading in 88 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was set to lose its government in the state, having won 10 seats and leading in 60 seats. Other parties had won 8 seats and were leading in 17 seats. These trends were according to Television reports and the official Election Commission of India website.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress and its allies nudged past the BJP to take the lead, leading in 117 seats. The BJP appeared to be inching towards defeat, having won 1 seat and leading in 102 seats. Other parties were leading in 10 seats.
In Chhattisgarh, the Congress was headed for a victory, leading in 63 seats. The BJP was set to lose its government in the state, leading in just 18 seats. Other parties were leading in 9 seats. While the results for the state were yet to be declared, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh conceded defeat, saying that he had resigned from his post.
In Telangana, the TRS was set for a landslide victory, having won 21 seats and leading in 66 seats. The Congress and its allies had won 4 seats and were leading in 16 seats. The BJP was leading in 1 seat. Other parties had won 3 seats and were leading in 8 seats.
“People have blessed us. We should get a comfortable majority in Rajasthan," said Congress leader Sachin Pilot in Jaipur.
Election experts consider it fallacious to extrapolate the Assembly poll results to predict the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections, but the verdict in the five states is likely to be interpreted as a barometer of the public mood for 2019. The results could also determine the political discourse, both of the government and Opposition, for the next few months as the winter session of Parliament begins on Tuesday.
A senior leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Sunday criticised the BJP for not fulfilling its promise of constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya and demanded the government pass a legislation to bypass courts—a statement seen as nudging the party towards its core Hindutva ideology before general elections next year.
A better result will be a morale booster for the Congress and improve the political credentials of party president Rahul Gandhi who campaigned extensively in the five states.
Markets regained early morning losses, perhaps regarding election results not as poor for the BJP but were anxious about Reserve Bank of India governor Urjit Patel’s resignation.