The counting for the five states began early Tuesday with Congress doing exceedingly well in the Hindi heartland. According to early indications, Congress is expected to form governments in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. These three states were being governed by the BJP previously. BJP’s Sambit Patra joined the ABP News channel to comment on the emerging trend of Tuesday’s counting.
Seeing his party trail in the counting wasn’t the only disappointment for Patra. Just when the Congress crossed the 116 mark in the Madhya Pradesh’s 230-seat assembly during the counting, ABP News anchor sought Patra’s reaction, but referred to him as Congress spokesperson. This brought a wry smile on the BJP’s controversial spokesperson’s face.
Patra said that this was too early to conclude since only a few rounds of counting had been completed. He, however, looked downbeat by his party’s disappointing performance in the Hindi heartland.
Patra was in constant news during the campaigning period in Madhya Pradesh. On one occasion, his comments had turned the TV debate on Aaj Tak into an utter chaos. Patra calling the members of the Nehru-Gandhi family Thugs of Hindostan elicited angry responsehad from the Congress supporters in the audience, who had descended to the stage.
On another occasion, again in Madhya Pradesh during the campaigning period, Patra was left red-faced after a member of the audience compared him with cartoon characters Doraemon and Mickey Mouse.