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BJP Sweeps Himachal Polls
BJP sweeps Himachal polls; Dhumal to be sworn in as CM
CNN-IBN
Published on Fri, Dec 28, 2007 at 08:21, Updated at Fri, Dec 28, 2007 in Nation section
New Delhi: The BJP's victory chariot moved into Himachal Pradesh on Friday with the saffron party making a clean sweep in the Assembly elections, winning 41 seats in the 68-member Assembly.
It's the best-ever performance by the BJP in Himachal with the party increasing its vote share by nearly 12 per cent. The man leading the onslaught, Prem Kumar Dhumal, will now become the chief minister of the state for the second time. He is likely to be sworn in on December 30.
After a handsome performance in Gujarat, the BJP comfortably dislodged the ruling Congress, which finished with just 23 seats. The Congress lost the battle at the hustings on the twin issue of anti-incumbency and corruption.
The BSP, which played the spoiler for Congress by cutting into its traditional vote bank of dalits, made its debut in the state winning one seat while Independents took away the remaining three.
The Congress, which went to the polls under the leadership of grand old man of Himachal politics and five-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, suffered on BJP's campaign plank of corruption, price rise and unemployment.
Three ministers bit the dust in the hustings while Singh survived the saffron sweep retaining his Rohru seat in Shimla district winning by a margin of 14,000 votes. The defeated ministers were Raj Kishan Gaur(Agriculture), Ramlal Thakur(Forest) and Kuldeep Kumar(Industries)
The BJP has returned to power in the state after a gap of 5 years. With this win, the saffron rule has spread to almost the whole of North India. The party already has governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat. Its alliance partners in NDA rule the states of Orissa, Bihar, Punjab and Nagaland.
The Congress downplayed its defeat in Himachal Pradesh, citing 'anti-incumbency' as the single largest factor that went against it.
Congress leader and Union Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said the anti-incumbency factor had worked against the Virbhadra Singh Government, despite the fact that it had undertaken many development works during the last five years.
Both Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh (Rohru) and BJP's chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal (Bamsan) emerged victorious. Former minister JP Nadda won for BJP from Bilaspur.
BJP's chief Ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal gave full credit for his victory to the party in the state. He was being quizzed about whether Gujarat CM Narendra Modi had helped swing the tide in the BJP's favour in Himachal as well.
Dhumal(63), a professor of English literature, who was named as BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate, led the saffron surge winning from Bamsan in Hamirpur district beating his schoolmate and Congress candidate retired colonel BC Lagwal by 26,000 votes.
Dhumal, who also represents Hamirpur in Lok Sabha, is likely to be chosen as the leader of the BJP's Legislature Party tomorrow and may be sworn in for a second term as Chief Minister on Sunday.
However, he says Narendra Modi is his close friend and that Modi has been guiding them. “He played his part in Gujarat, however, in UP, we did our best,” adds he.
Dhumal also clarified that there is no love lost between him and former BJP chief minister Shanta Kumar. “We were always together and we are together,” says Dhumal.
Saffron Cover Spreads Over India's Political Map
Saffron cover spreads over India's political map
CNN-IBN
Published on Fri, Dec 28, 2007 at 09:12, Updated at Fri, Dec 28, 2007 in Nation section
New Delhi: With its thumping win in Himachal Pradesh, the NDA has extended the saffron cover to over three-fourth of North India on Friday.
And an elated BJP declared after the Himachal verdict that its next target will be to take over Delhi in the next general elections.
With Himachal and Gujarat in its bag, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and it's National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies are now in power in 10 states.
In the north of the Vindhyas, the BJP or NDA allies are in power in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
FAR AND WIDE: Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are with the NDA.
he political map of the rest of India shows that governments led by the Congress and its United Progressive Alliance (UPA) partners are in power in 11 states while three states, including Uttar Pradesh, are ruled by parties which are not aligned to either the NDA or the UPA,
In the north only Haryana, Jharkhand and Delhi are in UPA’s kitty.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which gives outside support to the UPA government at the Centre, is in power in Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura.
Next Stop: Indraprastha
After second blow to Cong, BJP says next stop is Delhi
Divyamanu Chaudhry / CNN-IBN
Published on Fri, Dec 28, 2007 at 12:38, Updated at Fri, Dec 28, 2007 in Nation section
New Delhi: The big victory in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections is the second major electoral gain for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in less than a week and an elated BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said the downfall of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Congress has begun.
"It is 100 per cent on expected lines because the change was very, very evident in Himachal so we knew that BJP is going to form the government and as regards the attribution the total attribution is to the BJP workers and leaders there," Sushma Swaraj replied when asked if the results were on expected lines.
After delivering a second blow to the Congress in a week, BJP leaders warned that the verdicts in Himachal Pradesh and earlier in Gujarat proved the Congress was bound to lose Lok Sabha elections only 18 months away.
Party General Secretary Sushma Swaraj gloated in New Delhi: "The BJP victory is not going to be limited to Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. These are trailers of the Lok Sabha election."
Senior BJP leader LK Advani said the victory vindicated the BJP's agenda of good governance.
"Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are testimony to the victory of the agenda of good and honest governance. We have achieved it," Advani said.
Arun Jaitley, another BJP general secretary, added: "With the victory in Himachal, the (BJP-led) NDA (National Democratic Alliance) is in power in 10 states. Seven of them are with the BJP alone."
Another party leader, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, said: "Himachal Pradesh will fuel our resurgence at the national level."
Swaraj also rubbished reports that the BJP was a divided house in Himachal.
"(A) Very united face of the BJP went to polls and there was no faction. Had there been factions then the projection of Prem Kumar Dhumal would have adversely affected but it did not. So Shantaji also knew. When we projected Prem Kumar Dhumal we did it with the consent of Shantaji and with his blessing. The second thing is the anti-incumbency factor was one but people also drew comparison with the BJP government earlier and that's why they favoured BJP and opted for BJP against Congress," she said.
"Very significant. The countdown for the UPA and Congress in particular has started," a smiling Swaraj said.
Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma tried to maintain a brave front and rejected any link between the verdicts in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
"Historically there has been a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP. It will be wrong to link Gujarat with Himachal. It must still be acknowledged that the congress still has a powrerful presence in Gujarat and HP," he said.
Victory is Sweet. 
BJP Sweeps Himachal Polls
BJP sweeps Himachal polls; Dhumal to be sworn in as CM
CNN-IBN
Published on Fri, Dec 28, 2007 at 08:21, Updated at Fri, Dec 28, 2007 in Nation section
New Delhi: The BJP's victory chariot moved into Himachal Pradesh on Friday with the saffron party making a clean sweep in the Assembly elections, winning 41 seats in the 68-member Assembly.
It's the best-ever performance by the BJP in Himachal with the party increasing its vote share by nearly 12 per cent. The man leading the onslaught, Prem Kumar Dhumal, will now become the chief minister of the state for the second time. He is likely to be sworn in on December 30.
After a handsome performance in Gujarat, the BJP comfortably dislodged the ruling Congress, which finished with just 23 seats. The Congress lost the battle at the hustings on the twin issue of anti-incumbency and corruption.
The BSP, which played the spoiler for Congress by cutting into its traditional vote bank of dalits, made its debut in the state winning one seat while Independents took away the remaining three.
The Congress, which went to the polls under the leadership of grand old man of Himachal politics and five-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, suffered on BJP's campaign plank of corruption, price rise and unemployment.
Three ministers bit the dust in the hustings while Singh survived the saffron sweep retaining his Rohru seat in Shimla district winning by a margin of 14,000 votes. The defeated ministers were Raj Kishan Gaur(Agriculture), Ramlal Thakur(Forest) and Kuldeep Kumar(Industries)
The BJP has returned to power in the state after a gap of 5 years. With this win, the saffron rule has spread to almost the whole of North India. The party already has governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat. Its alliance partners in NDA rule the states of Orissa, Bihar, Punjab and Nagaland.
The Congress downplayed its defeat in Himachal Pradesh, citing 'anti-incumbency' as the single largest factor that went against it.
Congress leader and Union Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said the anti-incumbency factor had worked against the Virbhadra Singh Government, despite the fact that it had undertaken many development works during the last five years.
Both Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh (Rohru) and BJP's chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal (Bamsan) emerged victorious. Former minister JP Nadda won for BJP from Bilaspur.
BJP's chief Ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal gave full credit for his victory to the party in the state. He was being quizzed about whether Gujarat CM Narendra Modi had helped swing the tide in the BJP's favour in Himachal as well.
Dhumal(63), a professor of English literature, who was named as BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate, led the saffron surge winning from Bamsan in Hamirpur district beating his schoolmate and Congress candidate retired colonel BC Lagwal by 26,000 votes.
Dhumal, who also represents Hamirpur in Lok Sabha, is likely to be chosen as the leader of the BJP's Legislature Party tomorrow and may be sworn in for a second term as Chief Minister on Sunday.
However, he says Narendra Modi is his close friend and that Modi has been guiding them. “He played his part in Gujarat, however, in UP, we did our best,” adds he.
Dhumal also clarified that there is no love lost between him and former BJP chief minister Shanta Kumar. “We were always together and we are together,” says Dhumal.
Saffron Cover Spreads Over India's Political Map
Saffron cover spreads over India's political map
CNN-IBN
Published on Fri, Dec 28, 2007 at 09:12, Updated at Fri, Dec 28, 2007 in Nation section
New Delhi: With its thumping win in Himachal Pradesh, the NDA has extended the saffron cover to over three-fourth of North India on Friday.
And an elated BJP declared after the Himachal verdict that its next target will be to take over Delhi in the next general elections.
With Himachal and Gujarat in its bag, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and it's National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies are now in power in 10 states.
In the north of the Vindhyas, the BJP or NDA allies are in power in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
FAR AND WIDE: Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are with the NDA.
he political map of the rest of India shows that governments led by the Congress and its United Progressive Alliance (UPA) partners are in power in 11 states while three states, including Uttar Pradesh, are ruled by parties which are not aligned to either the NDA or the UPA,
In the north only Haryana, Jharkhand and Delhi are in UPA’s kitty.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which gives outside support to the UPA government at the Centre, is in power in Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura.
After second blow to Cong, BJP says next stop is Delhi
Divyamanu Chaudhry / CNN-IBN
Published on Fri, Dec 28, 2007 at 12:38, Updated at Fri, Dec 28, 2007 in Nation section
New Delhi: The big victory in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections is the second major electoral gain for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in less than a week and an elated BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said the downfall of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Congress has begun.
"It is 100 per cent on expected lines because the change was very, very evident in Himachal so we knew that BJP is going to form the government and as regards the attribution the total attribution is to the BJP workers and leaders there," Sushma Swaraj replied when asked if the results were on expected lines.
After delivering a second blow to the Congress in a week, BJP leaders warned that the verdicts in Himachal Pradesh and earlier in Gujarat proved the Congress was bound to lose Lok Sabha elections only 18 months away.
Party General Secretary Sushma Swaraj gloated in New Delhi: "The BJP victory is not going to be limited to Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. These are trailers of the Lok Sabha election."
Senior BJP leader LK Advani said the victory vindicated the BJP's agenda of good governance.
"Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are testimony to the victory of the agenda of good and honest governance. We have achieved it," Advani said.
Arun Jaitley, another BJP general secretary, added: "With the victory in Himachal, the (BJP-led) NDA (National Democratic Alliance) is in power in 10 states. Seven of them are with the BJP alone."
Another party leader, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, said: "Himachal Pradesh will fuel our resurgence at the national level."
Swaraj also rubbished reports that the BJP was a divided house in Himachal.
"(A) Very united face of the BJP went to polls and there was no faction. Had there been factions then the projection of Prem Kumar Dhumal would have adversely affected but it did not. So Shantaji also knew. When we projected Prem Kumar Dhumal we did it with the consent of Shantaji and with his blessing. The second thing is the anti-incumbency factor was one but people also drew comparison with the BJP government earlier and that's why they favoured BJP and opted for BJP against Congress," she said.
"Very significant. The countdown for the UPA and Congress in particular has started," a smiling Swaraj said.
Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma tried to maintain a brave front and rejected any link between the verdicts in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
"Historically there has been a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP. It will be wrong to link Gujarat with Himachal. It must still be acknowledged that the congress still has a powrerful presence in Gujarat and HP," he said.
China puts Taiwan as part of its nation (or at least did until recently), etc... they lay claim to that portion of the world, so they map the world with their boundaries going around it. If it didn't, i'd wonder...
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