Coundown for result of Assembly poll begins; Cong smells poll defeat ahead of D-day

New Delhi, Oct 18: On the eve of counting of votes in Maharashtra and Haryana, Congress leaders appear resigned to the party's fate in the Assembly polls giving more than ample hints that it was unlikely to return to power in the two states. "We are going to finish third in both the states," a central leader said, adding matter of factly that the party has no high hopes either in Maharashtra or Haryana.

Congress is carrying the anti-incumbency of 15 years in Maharashtra and 10 years in Haryana and is expected to figure third in both the states, another leader, who declined to be identified, said. The talk in the party is that the Lok Sabha polls had shown the BJP and its allies securing majority in 244 out of 288 Assembly segments in Maharashtra and the BJP and Haryana Janhit Congress gaining in 58 and Congress in just eight Assembly seats in Haryana.

"If the voting in the Lok Sabha polls is any indication, the Congress cannot entertain high hopes in both the states," is the refrain of Congress leaders. In Maharashtra, which is witnessing five cornered contest, the Congress is expecting the BJP to be the single largest party followed by the Shiv Sena, a trend clearly shown in the exit polls. In the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had secured just two seats while its ally the NCP four in the state having 48 Parliament seats. In Haryana, the BJP and the INLD are expected to come first and second is the assessment in the Congress.

The Congress could secure just one out of 10 seats in the Lok Sabha polls. The leader felt that Congress will, however, perform a bit better than Lok Sabha polls in both the states. "We will gain more than that in both states. Narendra Modi won't be able to repeat his Lok Sabha performance this time though BJP is much ahead in both places," the leader said.

PTI