The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Mandate is not for the BJP: CPI(M)

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Thursday, May 29, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Mandate is not for the BJP: CPI(M)

Special Correspondent

‘About 66 per cent of the votes polled was anti-BJP’
‘Illegal mining and land grabbing helped the BJP’

BANGALORE: The Communist Party of India–Marxist (CPI-M) has taken a stand that the verdict in the State Assembly elections was not in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which has won 110 seats.

The CPI(M) State Secretariat has said that the BJP’s vote share was only 33.9 per cent.

This meant that 66.1 per cent of the votes polled were anti-BJP.

It analysed that the BJP had contested 198 seats in 2004 and had a vote share of 28.33 per cent.

In 2008, it contested in all the 224 seats and increased its vote share by 5.6 per cent.

The analysis pointed out that the party which has not been able to get 50 per cent of the votes got 50 per cent of the seats. It attributed this fact to the limitations in the electoral system.

In a proportional representation election system, a party with 34 per cent of the votes would get only 34 per cent of seats.

It is evident that the 66 per cent of the voters who exercised their franchise have voted against the BJP which meant that the people of Karnataka wanted a non-BJP government and a secular party to come to the power.

The CPI(M) accused the BJP of resorting to unlawful ways and means to win votes.

Illegal mining and land grabbing were important issues which helped the BJP to grab power.

The CPI(M) blamed the United Progressive Alliance Government at the Centre for failing to control price rise and not keeping the public distribution system working which had given the BJP to leverage these issues to gain votes in Karnataka.

The document signed by secretariat member Nithyananada Swamy and secretary V.J.K. Nair expressed disappointment that the party was not able to win even one seat.

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