[Marxistindia] on assembly election results

[news from the cpi(m)]

December 8, 2008

Press Statement

 

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

 

On Assembly Election Results

 

The Assembly elections in the five states of Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Mizoram have produced a mixed result.  In the four states where the main contest was between the BJP and the Congress, the BJP has suffered a setback.  The BJP had been ruling in the three states of Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Rajasthan and it has lost the Rajasthan assembly  elections and failed to  wrest Delhi from the Congress. In Mizoram, the Congress was able to achieve decisive victory with the people voting out the ruling MNF.

 

The Congress has retained Delhi and emerged as the largest single party in Rajasthan, in a position to form a government.  

 

The results of the elections show that the people have voted mainly on the basis of the states' political situation and the performance of the government there.  The BJP won the elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh with a reduced margin of seats and percentage of votes.  The Congress was unable to cash-in on the discontent against the BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh.  

 

The discontent of the people against both the BJP and the Congress is evident. Whether it be price rise, agrarian crisis, unemployment or lack of basic services, both parties have been unable to tackle them effectively. It is also clear that the BJP's efforts to exploit the Mumbai terrorist attack have not found support from the people.  

 

It is significant that non-Congress, non-BJP parties have garnered a better percentage of votes in these four states which have had a bipolar polity so far.  This opens up the scope for a third force to emerge  in these states in the future.

 eom