One of the oldest and the largest party, the Indian National Congress, which has been on a losing streak, finally secured and retained its seat in the North Eastern state of Mizoram.
At the last count update at 5:16 pm on Monday, Congress was already gearing up for forming a government in this one of the Seven Sister States of the North Eastern India that shares its borders with the states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur and with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Burma.
The party has won 26 seats so far and is leading in five seats in the 40-member state assembly. This is for the fifth time the Congress has come to power here and the win is a consolation for the party that has been decimated in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. While in Chhattisgarh it lost, after putting up a tough fight to the pro-Hindutva - Bharatiya Janata Party.
The 71-year old Lal Thanhawla will retain his power for the fifth time as the Chief Minister of the state.
The Congress that is currently the ruling party in India has been facing a tide of negative 'mass verdict' after a slew of corruption and scam cases hit the government, besides the ever increasing inflation rates in the country.
The biggest 'facepalm moment' for the Congress that use 'the hand' as a symbol for the party was losing its New Delhi seat. Congress has been in power in the capital for 15 years, with Shiela Dikshit having the distinction of the longest-serving woman Chief Minister in independent India. In the previous elections, the Congress had won as many as 43 seats in the 70-member legislative Assembly. But this time around it had dwindled to a mere eight.
In the Congress-ruled state of Rajasthan, it was left with only 31 seats in the 200-member house. Officials counting votes in the state said the BJP won 162 seats out of 199. In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP won 156 seats, while leading in another 9 out of the 230 constituencies.
While Mizoram has given Congress some respite, there is no doubt that the 2014 General Election would be a close fight; one that promises to cause several heartburns.
