INDIA: BJP PARTY HEADS FOR LANDSLIDE IN ELECTIONS скачать в хорошем качестве

INDIA: BJP PARTY HEADS FOR LANDSLIDE IN ELECTIONS

(28 Nov 1998) English/Nat The governing B-J-P party in India is heading for a landslide in key state elections. Early results on Saturday show what appears to be a rebuke by the public for the 8-month-old Hindu nationalist led coalition government. Voting took place in 4 of India's 26 states in an election which was the first political test for the B-J-P since it took office. Senior B-J-P leaders have blamed the expected losses on party infighting. As the results began to show a clear trend, celebrations started at the Congress Party headquarters in the Indian capital, New Delhi. Early trends showed the Congress Party ousting the sitting B-J-P government in the important states of New Delhi and Rajasthan. There it may win as many as three-fourths of the assembly seats in each state. The battle was closer in the Congress-ruled central state of Madhya Pradesh, but first results indicated Congress would hold on to the state government. One beneficiary of the election in Delhi was the President of the Delhi Congress Party, Sheila Dixshit. She won her seat and is now tipped for the Chief Minister's post in the capital. She says the B-J-P has failed to meet expectations. SOUNDBITE: (English) "They came up with great dreams and great hopes and large promises, and not one of them has been fulfilled, so I think the people have realised that the BJP is a party which talks big but in action is very very very small." SUPERCAPTION: Sheila Dixshit, Congress Party winning candidate, Delhi The B-J-P headquarters in Delhi were virtually deserted - there were no celebrations there. Prime Minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee reacted briefly to the results, saying it seemed the voters wanted a change. He said the government's majority in parliament should not be affected. and the coalition would meet on Sunday to discuss the results. The key question had been whether the Congress Party could bounce back after a crushing defeat in general elections earlier this year. It now says it's back to strength. The poll was a crucial test of the government's first eight months and a key electoral test for the Congress Party's new leader, Sonia Gandhi, widow of slain former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Sonia, the new leader with a successful family name, was one of the strongest weapons for the Congress Party in the state elections. The party is already claiming that the so-called Sonia effect has turned around it's fortunes. SOUNDBITE: (English) "The Congress is rejuvenated, it is united, it has a direction, and it has a leader in Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and that leader is going to take the Congress forward -- there's no looking back now." SUPERCAPTION: Sheila Dixshit, Congress Party winning candidate, Delhi As the results sink in, the recriminations have already started. Meetings of key allies and opposition groups are planned for Sunday, ahead of a new session of Parliament which opens on Monday. Some analysts are already talking of mid-term elections, perhaps in 1999. It's a possibility the Prime Minister has not ruled out. But for now for the Congress Party, it's time to celebrate what the party hopes is a return to the glory days of its past. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...