Tall claims fall flat,losers look within

The most optimistic of all was RJD candidate Haffiz Anwar-ul-Haq. Addressing a political rally on the last day of campaigning,he had announced that he would ensure that the three veterans — Bansal,Jain and BSP ‘s Harmohan Dhawan — got a pension,as it was “time for them to retire”. He was confident that they “would not stand anywhere” in front of him. While he had predicted at least 1.2 lakh votes for himself,Haq polled only around 11,000 votes. Still maintaining his optimism,Haffiz said on Saturday: “Considering the fact that it was my first contest,the verdict is quite satisfying. I will prove to be a strong contender the next time,” hesaid.

On the other hand,the BSP had claimed that the Congress would emerge as a poor third,with BJP finishing second in the race and the BSP first. The results shocked Dhawan. “It was unexpected. We had thought that anti-incumbency would go against the Congress. But it did not happen. Urban voters favoured the ruling party,” he said. The BJP had been wooing urban voters. Jain had said his party was already ahead of Congress in the urban areas and would definitely gain in the colonies and villages. After the verdict,he said: “The party will analyse the election result.”