YEAR-POLITICS 3LST

With BJP's tally in the Lok Sabha reduced from 138 to
116, it was time for a generational change as 52-year-old
Nitin Gadkari took over the reins from Rajnath Singh while
Advani himself made way for Sushma Swaraj as Leader of
Opposition in the Lok Sabha or Lower House.

The Left parties got the severest drubbing in the Lok
Sabha elections held in the backdrop of the Nandigram incident
and the developments at Singur in the eastern Indian state of
West Bengal which were exploited to the hilt by Trinamool
Congress chief Mamta Banerjee.
In fact, the Left parties are facing a threat to their
very existence as their strongholds of West Bengal and Kerala
were shaken to the roots and the assembly elections there are
scheduled for 2011.
A highlight of the Lok Sabha elections was that generally
those parties and leaders among the United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) and allies who sided with Congress, survived or
thrived, while those who tried to sideline it, almost fell by
the wayside.
For instance, Lalu Prasad's RJD was down from 27 to just
four and Ram Vilas Paswan met his waterloo with his LJP
drawing a blank after they parted ways with Congress.
Almost similar was the fate of Samajwadi Party, which had
helped the UPA-I survive after the withdrawal of the Left
support to the Government. Its tally dipped from 39 to 22. PTI
SPG
RDM


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