"It is the beginning of the end of Congress's politics of confuse, divide and rule in the country," Badal said, adding that the people of Bihar have delivered a forceful endorsement of development agenda and "a rejection of cheap political theatricals indulged in by ruling alliance at the Centre."
Also see: Live Bihar Trends
"The people have punished the Congress party for its efforts to defame the Nitish Kumar government on the issue of subsidies and their impact on the state's economy. The Congress is committing the same blunder in Punjab and will meet the same fate in the next assembly elections," Badal said.
The Punjab CM alleged that Bihar results were also people's verdict against the "unprecedented corruption rampant in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre."
He said campaigning by central Congress leaders in Bihar had actually boomeranged on that party because of their association with corruption. "Refusal to listen to the opposition's demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the Rs 1.76 lakh crore 2G scam also convinced people that the Congress is trying to hide its corrupt deals," Badal claimed.
He said the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance in Punjab, where assembly elections are due in early 2012, was all set to repeat the Bihar results on the development plank. "Our efforts to put the economy of the state back on track have already begun to produce results, as the nearly 100 per cent increase in the growth rate of revenue collections shows," he said.
Punjab's deputy chief minister and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal also said the Congress would meet Bihar fate in the Punjab assembly elections. "The Congress in Punjab would meet Bihar fate as the electorate has rejected tamasha and road-show politics putting a stamp of approval on development agenda," Sukhbir Singh said. He said the poll verdict was "a firm endorsement of development initiatives of Nitish Kumar's government and total rejection of multi-billion scam tainted Congress party that is responsible for unprecedented price hike."
SAD general secretary and party spokesman Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal has said Bihar results have "conclusively showed that incumbency becomes an asset for governments that put development on the top of their agenda."For latest results SMS poll to 57333
