DATE=10/7/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=INDIA VOTE COUNT THURSDAY (L-UPDATE)
NUMBER=2-254758
BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE
DATELINE=NEW DELHI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and
his 22-party coalition have won India's parliament
elections. Results show Mr. Vajpayee's National
Democratic Alliance -- led by his Bharatiya Janata
Party -- has passed the majority mark of 272 seats in
India's lower house. It will add more seats as the
count continues. V-O-A's Jim Teeple reports the
results also show the opposition Congress Party, led
by Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, has suffered a major
electoral defeat.
Text: Six-months after his government was defeated by
one-vote in a parliament confidence motion led by
Sonia Gandhi and the Congress Party, Atal Behari
Vajpayee emerged a winner. His coalition has won a
clear majority to form the next government. In the
process Mr. Vajpayee dealt a decisive defeat to the
opposition Congress Party which suffered one of its
worst electoral losses in years
The chief spokesman for the Bharatiya Janata Party,
Venkah Naidu, says his party won this year for a
variety of reasons.
// NAIDU ACT //
The 15-months of good governance by Sri (Mr.)
Vajpayee. Secondly is his personality. Thirdly
the alliances we have made in various parts of
the country, and fourth is the negative campaign
of the Congress Party.
// END ACT //
He says Mr. Vajpayee has won a decisive mandate to
serve a full five-year term.
Projections show Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi
has won both races where she is seeking a parliament
seat. But her Congress Party is trailing and is
unlikely to hold onto all its 140-seats in parliament.
A grim-faced Congress Party spokesman, Kapil Sibal,
told reporters in New Delhi his party is evaluating
the impact of the losses.
// SIBAL ACT //
The result calls for introspection, frank
assessment, and determined action. We attend to
this in the coming days. In the meantime, we
accept unhesitatingly the verdict of the people.
// END ACT //
There have been calls for a change in leadership by
senior party members. This is the second national
election in which the Congress Party has suffered
major losses since Sonia Gandhi took control of the
party last year. But even as they begin the process
of evaluating their losses, Congress Party leaders are
saying they will be able to mount an effective
opposition to B-J-P led alliance.
Projections indicate that although Mr. Vajapayee will
return to power -- he will do so with a majority of
only about 20-seats and he will sit at the head of an
alliance of 22-parties -- many of whom have different
agenda's than his own. Analysts say this does not
bode well for the new government to serve a full five-
year term in office.
Meanwhile, India's main stock exchange rose five-
percent on the election news -- closing at an all-time
high of 49-hundred 63-point-four. The market rise was
also attributed to news that Moody's Investor Service
has upgraded India's rating from stable to positive,
citing promises made by the Vajpayee government that
it intends to aggressively pursue economic
restructuring. (SIGNED)
NEB/JLT/RAE
07-Oct-1999 08:46 AM EDT (07-Oct-1999 1246 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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