Election Results 2018: The results were a massive boost to the Congress ahead of the 2019 polls
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP faced setbacks in the assembly elections in the three heartland states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. The Congress won Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, while it fell two seats short of the majority mark in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress swept Rajasthan, bagging a total of 99 seats while a seat won by ally Ajit Singh meant they touched the majority mark of 100 seats in the state. The BJP, who could not buck an anti-incumbency trend in the state, won 73 seats. In Madhya Pradesh, the competition was tighter, with the Congress slightly ahead with 114 seats against BJP's 108 seats. PM Modi tweeted saying "we accept the people's mandate with humility".
Madhya Pradesh saw a close fight on Tuesday that swung wildly between the Congress and the BJP, whose Shivraj Singh Chouhan was eyeing a record fourth term. But Mr Chouhan tendered his resignation to Governor Anandiben Patel, adding that the BJP will not stake claim to form the government in Madhya Pradesh.
In Rajasthan, the Congress faces the question of who will become the chief minister. Despite speculation of a tussle over who will take the top post, the party's two top leaders in the state - Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot - displayed complete harmony and togetherness in their victory celebrations. Congress President Rahul Gandhi is expected to take the final call today, with sources saying Ashok Gehlot has emerged as the front-runner for the post.
Here are the live updates on the final results in the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh assembly elections:
Congress leader Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijaya Singh meet Governor Anandiben Patel.
BREAKING: Rahul Gandhi to decide on Rajasthan chief minister tomorrow.
BREAKING: Congress delegation heads for Raj Bhawan to stake claim to form government in Rajasthan.
Visuals of the Congress office in Raipur decked up. Congress is set to form the government in Chhattisgarh after winning 68 seats out of a total of 90 in the state assembly elections.
The Madhya Pradesh Congress has asked party chief Rahul Gandhi to take a decision on the Chief Ministerial candidate. The front-runners are party veteran Kamal Nath and Mr Gandhi's close aide Jyotoradiya Scindia. Unconfirmed reports said the question has been
decided in favour of Kamal Nath.
Visuals from the Congress Legislature Party meeting in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
Meanwhile, CPI-M leader and former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said today that the election results in five states "reflected the agony and distress of the people due to mis-governance of the BJP-led Central and state governments", news agency IANS reported.
In the middle of a tug of war over the chief minister's post in Madhya Pradesh, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia today made it clear he was ready for the job, if his party were to give it to him. "It would be an honour to serve as chief minister,"
Mr Scindia told NDTV, shortly after the Congress staked claim to form the next government in Madhya Pradesh.
The Samajwadi Party has announced its support to the Congress to form government in Madhya Pradesh. The announcement by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav came less than an hour after Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati made a similar offer to the Congress for government formation in Madhya Pradesh.
Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state Congress president Sachin Pilot have reached the Pradesh Congress Committee office in Jaipur to attend a meeting to decide the leader of the Congress Legislature Party, who will be the Chief Minister.
Madhya Pradesh Election Result 2018: Shivraj Chouhan submits resignation letter to Governor Anandiben Patel
Shivraj Chouhan submitted his resignation letter to Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. Mr Chouhan has said that the BJP will not try to stake claim to form the government in the state.
The BJP won 109 seats, seven short of the halfway mark. The Congress with 114 seats has emerged as the single-largest party.
The son of K Chandrasekhar Rao, KT Rama Rao, today said that a "non-Congress, non-BJP force" was emerging from Telangana. "We are very keen on a federal front. Strong regional voices need to be heard," Mr Rao was quoted by news agency ANI. KCR's party Telangana Rashtra Samithi on Tuesday polled about 46.9 per cent votes
winning 88 seats in the 119-member Assembly. The Congress-led four party People's Front polled 32.8 per cent votes (67.95 lakh) but finished with just 21 seats, whereas the BJP, which contested all seats on its own, won only one seat.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan tenders his resignation to Governor Anandiben Patel.
The Congress is set to stake claim to form the government in Rajasthan day today evening after Rahul Gandhi decides on the new chief minister, Sachin Pilot said. "We will take along all non-BJP parties and elected members who are against the BJP and are willing to support us," Mr Pilot told reporters at the Pradesh Congress Committee before the Congress Legislative Party meeting. The chief minister of Rajasthan would be declared in the second Congress meet in the evening and thereafter the party leaders will meet Governor Kalyan Singh to stake claim on the government.
The path for Congress to form a government in Madhya Pradesh was cleared today after outgoing Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan resigned from the post. Mr Chouhan added that the BJP will not stake claim to form a government in Madhya Pradesh. "As we have not got clear majority, we are not going to stake claim to form the government. And I am going to the Governor to resign as the Chief Minister," Mr Chouhan told the media in Bhopal.
Congress leaders to meet Madhya Pradesh Governor at 12 pm today.
"BSP Will Support Congress In Madhya Pradesh": Mayawati- If you see, over the last many decades, it was the Congress that ruled most of the states in India. But it was not working for the benefit of the people. Hence regional leaders had to come out and create their own parties to reach out to the people.
- Had the Congress performed well, the BJP would not have been able to expand its base.
- We fought these elections to ensure that the BJP does not come back to power. While BSP has performed well, we did not do as well as we had thought.
- Our aim is to keep the BJP out of power. And that is why we have decided to support the Congress in Madhya Pradesh.
The Congress ended with 99 seats, one short of majority, making the win against the BJP not as emphatic as the party would have wished. That meant less room for compromise in the simmering power struggle.
Sources say Ashok Gehlot has emerged front-runner, not least because of the upcoming national election and the party's slim margin in Rajasthan, which means Sachin Pilot - despite being a favourite of the leadership and leading the party for five years in the state - has to step aside.
The Congress scored its best election results in years on a day it marked a year since Rahul Gandhi's takeover. The party hopes the state election gains will consolidate its chief's role in opposition efforts to form a grand alliance to take on PM Modi in next year's polls.
Accusing PM Modi of letting down voters and not delivering on his promises, Rahul Gandhi said last evening, "Mr Modi has taught me what not to do... Arrogance is fatal for a politician".
Counting is still on in one seat in Chhattisgarh, where the Congress has already won
A senior leader from Mayawati's BSP has assured that the party would do all it can to stop the BJP from coming to power in any of the three heartland states where assembly elections have been held.
"It is clear that people have voted against the BJP. The BJP has lost badly. We will do whatever it takes to ensure that BJP can't form a government in any of the states," senior BSP leader Sudhindra Bhadoria told NDTV on Tuesday.
With the BSP winning two seats in Madhya Pradesh, the party can play a crucial role in deciding who forms the government in the state.
The final results for the Madhya Pradesh elections were announced this morning, after almost 24 hours of counting. Congress ended with 114 seats, while the BJP won 108 seats.