Congress erupts in celebration

Kolkata/Hyderabad/Srinagar/Chandigarh, May 16: The Congress Party and its allies across India are celebrating, as its party candidates continue to emerge victorious in the 2009 general elections, giving the UPA a second consecutive term in office.

People have been out in the streets in Kolkata, shouting slogans in support of Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee.

"After 32 years of misrule, now this is the victory of the people. This is an unprecedented victory, for the first time in the history of West Bengal." said a Trinamool Congress party supporter.

P. Sudhakar Reddy, a party candidate from Hyderabad, believes the victory is the result of good governance delivered by the party and its allies.

"In Andhra Pradesh, good work has been done under the leadership of Rajashekhara Reddy and Sonia Gandhi, As the trends show, we would not reach the expected target of 180, but the Congress Party will emerge as the single largest party and form the government," he said.

Meanwhile, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said that though the UPA will form a coalition, but it would not be easy for some parties to enter the UPA alliance.

"For some parties, it would not be so easy to enter the UPA alliance. They have had strong enmity with the Congress in their areas. It is not going to be easy to wipe it off. But then people are trying to make a strong UPA Government that can work for the coming five years and try to wipe off the problems prevailing in this country," he said.

Another Congress party candidate who emerged victorious was Pawan Kumar Bansal, from Chandigarh. Ecstatic after the victory his supporters distributed sweets and were celebrating on the streets.

"The results are all performance based. Everyone knows that this is a result of the policies of the Congress Party. People wanted the nation to progress and have hence voted for the Congress Party," said Bansal.

With signs emerging that the Congress-led UPA would have more numbers than earlier projected, there was growing confidence among residents that the coalition would form a stable government that would last its five years in office.

ANI