WEDNESDAY 05 JUNE 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC X.com/thestatesmanltd Fb/thestatesman 1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR Others 175* BJP 240* 30 12 BJP: 12 TMC: 29 Oth: 00 INC: 01 00 07 TMC: 29 SENSEX 72,079.054,389.73 NIFTY 21,884.501,379.40 GOLD 72,870760 ` vs $ 83.24 BJP: 07 AAP:00 Oth: 00 INC: 00 INC: 99* SILVER 94,0001,200 01 20 BJP: 19 Oth:00 36 00 INC: 01 BJD:00 Oth:00 43 00 BJP: 33 SP: 37 BSP:00 Oth: 03 INC: 06 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 76.081.25 Didi still invincible in Bengal In Bengal, the Trinamul Congress got 29 seats, the BJP 12 seats ~ six less than what they got in the 2019 LS polls ~ while Congress won a single seat Modi has broken many political parties and now the people of the country has broken his backbone MAMATA BANERJEE BENGAL CM Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata. BISWAJIT GHOSHAL STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 4 JUNE he people of Bengal kept their faith in the Trinamul Congress in the general elections whose results were announced on Sunday, putting paid to the BJP-led NDA’s hopes of a strong performance in the state. In the process, thanks also to the reverses it suffered in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere, the BJP was reduced to around 240 seats, although the NDA alliance had won or was leading in a total of around 291 seats, enough to form the government. In Bengal, the TMC got 29 seats, and the BJP 12 ~ six less than what they got in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections ~ while Congress won a single seat. Trinamul chairperson T Mamata Banerjee, speaking in the evening, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah should resign owning moral responsibility for the poor performance. “Modi has broken many political parties and now the people of the country have broken his backbone,” Miss Banerjee said, adding: “This is INDIA’s victory. People has voted against Modi. Bengal was the biggest target... Shah should resign as people have given him a befitting reply.” Among others, Abhishek Banerjee, TMC national general secretary, won from Diamond Harbour by 7.10 lakh votes, the highest victory margin in Bengal. Trinamul candidateYusuf Pathan, former cricketer, beat Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury by over 80,000 votes in Baharampur. The lone Congress nominee to win was Isha Khan Chowdhury, who was elected from Maldah South. The Sandeshkhali issue, where the BJP alleged the sexual harassment of local women by TMC leaders, failed to make an impact. Rekha Patra, the face of the movement who was fielded by the BJP against Haji Sheikh Nurul Islam of the TMC in Basirhat, lost by more than 2 lakh votes. Among BJP leaders who bit the dust were Mr Dilip Ghosh, former BJP state president, and Union ministers of state Debashree Chowdhury and Nisith Pramanik. Firebrand TMC leader Mohua Moitra was re-elected from Krishnagar seat while Mr Sudip Bandyopadhyay retained his Kolkata North seat. (More reports inside) NDA wins but Opp’s revival unnerves BJP ASHOK TUTEJA NEW DELHI, 4 JUNE Nobody ever thought the race in the Lok Sabha elections would be as tight as it turned out to be. The electorate's message to the BJP is loud and clear: A strong Opposition is essential for the functioning of a vibrant and accountable democracy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have won a third term for the BJP and its NDA allies, but the revival of the Congress-led Opposition is the biggest takeaway from the election. It is indeed a healthy sign for the country and its democratic institutions. The outcome clearly shows that while Mr Modi is still the biggest political figure in the country, the Opposition has successfully made big holes in the BJP's vote bank in key states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bengal. The results also reflect that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has come into his own after years of hard work and the BJP's relentless campaign against him. A much improved performance by Congress has finally given him legitimacy and put a seal of approval on his BJP supporters celebrate in the Capital. SUBRATA DUTTA leadership of the party. The Congress will also now get the main Opposition status in the House, a privilege it did not enjoy during the past decade. Another big winner of the elections is Samajwadi Party supremo AkhileshYadav whose party proved all pundits wrong to bag a substantial number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, electorally the most important state in the country. The construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which was projected by the BJP government as one of its main achievements, does not seem to have electorally benefited the saffron outfit. It is now anybody's guess whether UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will continue to enjoy the party leadership's confidence for long. The BJP will now have to carry its NDA allies along in BJD’s 24-yr-old fortress crumbles in Odisha STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BHUBANESWAR, 4 JUNE A BJP wave demolished the 24year-old fortress of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), led by party president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, creating history and blowing away Mr Patnaik’s hopes of become the longest serving chief minister in the country. The saffron sway accounted for 19 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats with the BJD and Congress leading in one seat each. But as per latest reports the final tally is likely to end up as 20 seats for the BJP and one for the Congress, leaving the BJD with no representation in the Lok Sabha. Congress's Saptagiri Ulaka was the lone victor who withstood the BJP onslaught. In the outgoing Lok Sabha, the BJD had 12 MPs, the BJP had eight, and the Congress had one. The BJD, which had not lost an election since 2000, also faced a crushing defeat in the state Assembly. In the Assembly elections, the BJP won 70 seats and was leading in eight as against the 72 seats needed to form the government in the state. The BJD has won 46 and is leading in 5 seats, down from 112 in 2019. The Congress, which had only nine seats in 2019, bagged 14 seats. Naidu to be next Andhra Pradesh CM HYDERABAD, 4 JUNE TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu is all set to be sworn in for the fourth time as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh as the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance decimated theYSRCP in both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections held simultaneously with TDP surpassing the majority mark of 88 on its own. Mr Naidu, who was languishing in jail for 52 days as an accused in the skill development scam case will also be at the helm of national politics after two decades with TDP winning 16 LS seats out of the 17 it contested. Out of a total 25 LS seats YSRCP managed to hold on to 4, BJP won 3 and JSP secured 2. The Congress under YS Sharmila failed to open an account in this election too. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “Andhra Pradesh has given exceptional mandate to NDA. I thank the people of the state for their blessings... We will work for the all round progress of AP and ensure the state prospers in the times to come.” The PM and Union home minister Amit Shah also spoke to Mr Naidu after the trends became clear and the Congress too reminded that it has promised special status to AP if it comes to power. Mr Naidu is likely to take oath SNS on 9 June. CMYK Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addresses the media in New Delhi. Mr Gandhi won both the seats he contested, Wayanad in Kerala and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, by large margins. AGENCIES the day-to-day running of administration since it has not been able to cross the magical mark of 272 on its own, unlike in 2019 when it had won 303 seats. TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are well-known for their mercurial behaviour. The BJP's failure to realise its dream of “400 Paar” also means it will have to bury its “One Nation, One Election” plan and many other dream projects. WINNERS GANDHINAGAR KANNAUJ AMETHI Amit Shah Akhilesh Yadav KL Sharma We never say that we will win in entire Bengal, but we tried everything possible in this election, there was no lack of effort from our side - ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY BAHARAMPUR LOSERS AMETHI Smriti Irani Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
The Statesman is one of India's oldest English newspapers. It was founded in Kolkata in 1875 and is directly descended from The Friend of India (founded 1818). The Englishman (founded 1821) was merged with The Statesman in 1934. The Delhi edition of The Statesman began publication in 1931. The Statesman Weekly is a compendium of news and views from the Kolkata and Delhi editions. Printed on airmail paper, it is popular with readers outside India. The Statesman (average weekday circulation approximately 180,000) is a leading English newspaper in West Bengal. The Sunday Statesman has a circulation of 230,000.
