By IANS,
New Delhi : The bulk of seats in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance’s stunning victory came mostly from the states where the Third Front partners had expected to do well and play kingmakers.
The Congress gained mostly in the Left-ruled West Bengal and Kerala, Tamil Nadu where AIADMK-led grouping was hoping to do good, Andhra Pradesh where grand alliance of Telugu Desam Party’s Chandrababu Naidu was expecting to cash in on an anti-incumbency factor and Uttar Pradesh where Bahujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati was hoping to carry on her landslide victory in last assembly elections.
The performance in Rajasthan, where the Congress bagged 19 out of the 25 seats, is in continuation of its victory in the November-December assembly elections.
In West Bengal, the Congress in a strategic tie-up with Trinamool Congress’ Mamata Banerjee humbled the Left front picking 25 out of total 42 seats. The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has been ruling the state for the last three decades.
In Kerala, the home state of CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) took 16 out of 20 seats. Many attribute this victory to the rumblings among factions led by senior communist leaders, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and Pinayari Vijayan supported by Karat.
The incredible victory in Uttar Pradesh, where it was virtually non-existent with only nine MPs out of the total 80, the Congress won 21 seats and shocked the powerful regional satraps Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
“It was clearly the anti-incumbency against the Mayawati government and disillusionment with the Samajwadi Party of whose rule the state has no fond memories,” says political analyst and Uttar Pradesh expert Sudha Pai.
“Another reason is the focussed party building work that Rahul Gandhi did in the state; after long, the party was trying real hard and it paid off,” she told IANS.
In Tamil Nadu, all the parties sympathetic to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had to bite the dust as the UPA managed 28 out of 40 seats.
Similarly, in Andhra Pradesh it walked with 32 out of 42 seats.
The party’s performance in rural Andhra Pradesh areas is being attributed to its implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) where the Youth Congress members continuously monitored the scheme. The Congress also retained its rule in Andhra Pradesh.