Kamal or Kamal Nath? MP election results outcome remained suspense till late night

Bhopal, Dec 12: It was almost 2 am on Wednesday, December 12, yet the suspense of the result in the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh refused to die down. While the 'leading' figures of the BJP and Congress remained fixed at 109 and 114, (it became 113 for some time), respectively, the 'won' figures were taking ages to update. And with the BJP remaining ahead by a whisker till the end when the Congress eventually beat it by just a few seats, the suspense remained intense in the capital of MP.

In the history of a state which has always voted decisively in its Assembly elections, this was something unique.

The Congress though was assured that even if the match ends in a tie or if both sides end up just short of the majority mark (116 out of 230), it had a better chance of beating the saffron party for parties like Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Independents were there to hold its hand. However, though the SP's victory in one seat was confirmed on the Election Commission website, the BSP was shown as leading in two seats for a long time. Afterall, nothing could be said till a party wins a seat.

The final figures of the commission showed the Congress winning 114 seats, which is just two short of the majority, while the BJP ended up with 109, losing over 50 seats compared to teh tally in 2013. The BSP got two and the SP one while four Independents won.

But yet the tension was not over since the Congress snatched defeats from the jaws of victory in the recent past, in states like Goa and Manipur. While it was upset with the delay in publication of the results, it did not waste time in making the earliest possible appointment with the governor, former Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel. In fact, given the recent fax fiasco in Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress sent mails this time - both electronic and physical.