In Telangana where the Congress ended the Bharath Rashtra Samithi’s (BRS) 10 year reign, Rahul Gandhi assured that the party will fulfill its promise of making “Prajalu Telangana”.
Assembly Election Result 2023: Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said he humbly accepted the Congress’ defeat in the three Hindi heartland states but asserted that the party’s ideological battle with the BJP would continue.
“We humbly accept the mandate of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan – the battle of ideology will continue,” the Gandhi scion said in a post on X as the BJP scored thumping victories over the Congress in all the three Hindi heartland states in the Assembly elections.
In Telangana where the Congress ended the Bharath Rashtra Samithi’s (BRS) 10 year reign, Rahul Gandhi assured that the party will fulfill its promise of making “Prajalu Telangana”.
“I am very thankful to the people of Telangana – we will fulfil the promise of making Prajalu Telangana. Heartfelt thanks to all the workers for their hard work and support,” the Wayanad MP posted on X.
According to latest trends from the Election Commission, the incumbent BJP is poised to retain power in Madhya Pradesh with a tw0-thirds majority and is likely to wrest power from rival Congress in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Meanwhile, the Congress’ ‘Hand’ is set to halt the BRS’ ‘Car’ firmly in its tracks in Telangana as the grand-old party seems to be heading towards a comfortable majority in southern state.
Counting of votes in the four states, which went to the polls last month, started at 8 AM on Sunday.
BJP juggernaut rolls in Hindi heartland
The BJP is set to capture all three states in the Hindi heartland– retaining power in Madhya Pradesh, and heading for a comfortable majority in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
In Madhya Pradesh, the incumbent Shivraj Chouhan-led dispensation is leading 163 of 230 seats, while the party is leading in 53 of 90 seats in Chhattisgarh and 114 of 199 seats in Rajasthan.
Exit-polls had given an edge to the Congress in Chhattisgarh, however, as of latest updates from the poll panel, the ruling party is lagging behind the opposition BJP, only leading in 36 seats. BJP has bounced back strongly in Chhattisgarh where the ruling Congress was predicted to retain power. A strong, sustained and aggressive campaign and its matching Congress in poll promises seem to have worked for the party.
Rajasthan seems to have followed the over three-decade old trend of rotating governments and the Congress government led by Ashok Gehlot appears to be on its way out.
BJP is on its way to creating a record in Madhya Pradesh and its expected retain power again after having ruled the state for 18 of the past 20 years, while the Congress under former CM Kamal Nath– which was expected to give a tough contest to the ruling party– seems to have surrendered meekly, leading in only 65 seats.
The Congress, which is in power in Rajasthan, seems to be on its way out, leading in only 70 seats.
Congress poised to dethrone BRS in Telangana
The Congress is poised to win Telangana for the first time in a shock for the ruling BRS which was in power in India’s youngest state for the past 10 years.
In Telangana, Congress gained from the anti-incumbency against the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi with its leader A Revanth Reddy seen to be a fierce critic of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. Victory in Karnataka in assembly polls earlier this year enthused Congress workers in Telangana and the party ran a strong campaign bolstered by its leaders from different parts of the country.
As per the latest trends from the Election Commission, Congress is leading in 69 of 119 assembly seats, BRS on 39, BJP on nine, AIMIM on 4 and CPI on one.
While the Congress will be happy over its expected victory in Telangana, the loss in Hindi heartland states is a cause of worry for the party months before the Lok Sabha polls.
Of the large swathe of the Hindi heartland, Congress is in power only in Himachal Pradesh and is part of the government in Bihar.
Counting in Mizoram, which went to the polls last month, will take place on Monday.
(With ANI inputs)