Nitish hails Badal for outstanding performance in Punjab polls

Patna, Mar 9 (ANI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has hailed Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for the outstanding performance of the Shiromani Akali Dal -Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in the recently concluded assembly polls.

" Badal has laid to rest all myths. In Punjab, no one has come back to power twice over the past 30 years," Kumar told media here.

The SAD-BJP combine 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.

Commenting on the disappointing performance of the Congress Party at the polls, Nitish Kumar said: "The matter of fourth or third front is a different question altogether but it is certain that only the parties that fulfil the aspirations of the public get the support of the people in various states. This is happening because of the people in Centre cannot understand the federal structure of the country. "

"According to them (Congress), the entire country is under their control because they are in the centre. And till the time they keep thinking like this, the angst of people will ontinue to grow," he added.

Kumar also had some advice for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP.

"If the NDA wants to grow, then obviously it has to become a larger coalition. The BJP has alliances with some parties in different states, So if they want to grow, then they have to think about the larger coalition," said Kumar.

The state polls have been considered as an opportunity for India's major parties to re-establish or strengthen their foothold ahead of general elections scheduled for 2014.

The Congress Party's poor performance seem to signal that its populist politics have failed to resonate with voters and will pose a challenge for the UPA coalition government ahead of the nationwide polls. (ANI)