Wannabe kingmakers humbled

NEW DELHI: The wannabe kingmakers of Indian politics, who had hoped for some hard bargaining after election results, bit the dust as the Congress-led UPA filled its kitty from the very states they had expected to do well.

With the majority of UPA's gains coming at the expense of the Third Front parties, that too in their traditional strongholds, those parties have been left redundant from the point of view of government formation.

The Congress party, that registered a massive gain of 60 seats as compared to the last election, increased its tally mainly from the Left-ruled West Bengal, Mayawati-ruled UP and Tamil Nadu along with its UPA allies.

In West Bengal, the Left's stronghold for the last three decades, the Congress in tandem with its strategic ally Trinamool Congress brought home 25 seats out of the 42.

In the state where disenchantment with the ruling parties was evident, the Left-front could muster 15 seats.

In yet another Left bastion Kerala, the Congress-led UDF swept the polls, winning 16 constituencies out of the 20 and decimating the Left, which had hoped to be an important player in the post-result scene.

Prominent media research body, the Centre for Media Studies (CMS), in its analysis of the results of the general elections, said that the Left was seen as a "stumbling block for the country moving forward" and that is why it has been "rejected and reduced to half".