Election results 2022: While BJP has a comfortable lead in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress today lost Punjab to AAP, and could not manage a comeback in Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur
10 March 2022 is turning out to be one of the darkest election results days for the Congress since independence, as the oldest party of India is losing ground in all five states that went to polls. The Congress, which was in power in Punjab, has suffered a big defeat at the hands of the Aam Aadmi Party. In Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP is marching to a thumping victory, the Congress has been reduced to a single-digit number. The party has failed to make a comeback in Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur.
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP is leading in 261 seats, as the Congress is likely to win a dismal two. In Punjab, it managed to gain leads in 16 seats but the AAP is far ahead, inching towards a historic win with 93 seats. As the results of defeat emerge, the internal tussle among the Punjab Congress has surfaced.
“I will urge our senior party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Punjab party in-charge Harish Chaudhary, to bring in some discipline within the party. We have to accept the mandate of the people of Punjab,” Congress leader Sangat Singh Gilzian told The Indian Express at the Punjab Congress Bhawan.
Heavyweights, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Punjab Congress chief Navjot Sidhu, lost from their constituencies further causing humiliation to the party.
Accepting defeat, Sidhu tweeted:
Congratulating AAP leader Bhagwant Mann, former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh also tweeted:
Referring to Congress’ infighting and the decision to replace its chief minister just four months before elections, Congress leader Shama Mohammad, explained the defeat, saying, “In Punjab, it is our own doing. We could have held on, but we went wrong,” reports NDTV.
Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi also talked about a “revamp and rewiring”. He said, “If we lose in all five states, then we have to think about a revamp and rewiring for the party.”
Congress’ hopes in Goa dimmed, as the BJP widened its lead in the coastal state. However, even as it emerged as the single-largest party in Goa, the Congress expressed confidence that it will form the next government with the help of other political parties, saying that the final results are yet to be announced.
As per the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) latest data for all the 40 Assembly seats in Goa, the BJP has so far won five seats and is leading in 15 others. The Congress has won three seats and is leading in eight.
Talking to reporters outside a counting centre, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee’s working president Aleixo Sequeira said the final tally is yet to be announced, so it is premature to say that the BJP has won the election. “Lead is not everything. The final results are yet to come. We will form the next government with the help of other political parties and Independents,” he added.
Two independent candidates have so far emerged victorious in Goa. The AAP and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) are leading in two seats each, while the Goa Forward Party (GFP), the Revolutionary Goans Party, and one independent candidate are leading in one seat each.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Congress leader Harish Rawat, who led the campaigns of their respective parties in the Assembly polls, are trailing. But, the ruling BJP is all set to secure a second consecutive term in Uttarakhand leading in 44 out of the total 70 seats, according to the latest trends.
While Dhami was trailing behind Congress’s Bhuvan Chandra Kapri in Khatima by 2,287 votes, Rawat was trailing behind BJP’s Mohan Singh Bisht by 13,893 votes. The BJP appears on its way to making history by winning two successive Assembly elections in the state, something that has not happened in its 21-year history.
“We already knew that we’ll form the government as PM Modi fulfilled all the promises he made to the people of Uttarakhand & CM Pushkar Singh Dhami too resolved issues of the people in the last 6 months,” said BJP leader Kailash Vijavargiya in Dehradaun.
The BJP is set to retain power in Manipur, as the party is leading in 28 seats, while the Congress is leading in nine seats. In Manipur, Congress had joined the Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance comprising the Congress, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party, and Janata Dal (Secular). However, the BJP is winning the northeastern state comfortably with chief minister N Biren Singh winning from Heingang with 18,271 votes.
With disappointing results in all five states, Congress workers staged a protest alleging “tampering with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)” outside the party office in Delhi. Congress leader Satej Patil said that the party was expecting a win in Punjab. “We expected the Congress to form government in Punjab, but we didn’t get required numbers. We have to introspect about it. In Goa, the Congress is leading on 16-17 seats, it’ll be the single largest party and we’ll seek support in case numbers aren’t enough,” Patil said.
With input from agencies
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