'Congress-mukt Bharat' around the corner: Kerala BJP

Thiruvananthapuram: In the wake of the BJP snatching Himachal Pradesh from the Congress and retaining Gujarat in the assembly elections, BJP Kerala chief Kummanem Rajasekheran on Monday said the results are in line with the party's slogan of "Congress-mukt Bharat". After losing Himachal Pradesh, the Congress now remains in power in only four states -- Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalaya and Mizoram. "The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is working for a 'Congress-mukt Bharat' (Congress-free India) and by regaining Himachal Pradesh and retaining Gujarat, things are going as per the plan," said Rajasekheran. "The Congress party tried its best to play the communal card in Gujarat, but it didn't work, as the people voted for development," said Rajasekheran. Former state BJP President P. Sreedharan Pillai said he found it strange that the media here was only seeing what happened in Gujarat. "(I) Am yet to hear anyone speaking of the BJP coming back to power in a big way in Himachal Pradesh by ousting the Congress government, which ruled the state for a decade. Here everyone is only speaking that in Gujarat, the BJP has retained power by a slender margin. It shouldn't be seen like this," said Pillai. In Kerala, the BJP has just one legislator in the 140-member assembly. Putting up a brave front was Congress Lok Sabha member Kodikunnil Suresh, who said that although BJP President Amit Shah spoke of getting 150 seats in Gujarat, that did not happen. "The real picture is that they have not even reached the three-figure mark, as it stands at 99 seats, with the Congress in 79 seats. It's certainly a great achievement for the Congress," said Suresh.