Samajwadi Party to form next govt in UP, BJP in Goa, SAD-BJP in Punjab (update)

New Delhi/Lucknow/Chandigarh/Dehradun, Mar. 6 (ANI): The Samajwadi Party has recaptured power in Uttar Pradesh, routing the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress.

At the time of the filing of this report, the Samajwadi Party had won 160 seats and was leading in 61. Mayawati's BSP had won 52 seats and was leading in 27. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won 34 seats and was leading in 16, while the Congress had won 19 seats and was leading in nine. Others had won eight seats and were leading in seven.

In Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine shocked the Congress by defying the expected anti-incumbency factor, and coming to power for a second consecutive five-year term.

As per Election Commission of India figures, the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine had won 68 of the 117 seats with the SAD securing 56 seats and the BJP 12 seats. The Congress won 46 seats, while Others won three.

The BJP parliamentary board said that it would be sending Arun Jaitley and Ram Lal as observers to chose the next chief minister of the state.

In Manipur, the Congress managed to retain its hold, winning 37 of the 60 seats up for grabs. It was leading in five assembly constituences when reports last came in.

In Uttarakhand, the election results went right down to the wire, with the BJP winning 28 seats and leading in three, while the Congress had won in 23 and was leading in nine. Others had claimed three seats.

The BJP parliamentary board met in Delhi and decided to send a team of party leaders to Dehradun to stake the party's claim to form the next government in Uttarakhand. Former BJP president Rajnath Singh and senior party leader Ananth Kumar will be going as observers there.

In Goa, out of the 40 seats up for grabs, the BJP has won 21, while the Congress has won nine. The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party has won three seats, while Others have won seven seats.

The BJP has decided to send Ravishankar Prasad and M.Venkiah Naidu as observers to this state to ensure that the BJP can stake a claim to form the next government.

Tuesday belonged to Mulayam Singh- led Samajwadi Party, as it rode on an anti-incumbency wave to dislodge incumbent chief minister Mayawati, who was looking to win a clear majority for her Bhaujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Mayawati's BSP won a majority in the 2007 elections (206 seats), sewing up a rainbow coalition of Dalits, upper castes and Muslims, but this time round, fared poorly and was reduced to 80 seats.

In Punjab, the Congress was left shocked by the electoral result. It was widely expected to wrest the state from the Akali Dal-BJP combine.

BJP President Nitin Gadkari said that the absolute victories in Punjab and Goa, the neck to neck race in Uttarakhand and the single seat win in Manipur was a clear indication of public disillusionment with the Congress and its policies, both at the Centre and in the states that had gone to polls. (ANI)