Madhya Pradesh assembly elections: Kahin khushi, kahin gam

BHOPAL: Time: 8am. The scene at two major party offices - BJP and Congress - was strikingly similar. The atmosphere was electrifying. Two premises were full of supporters, some even spilling out on approach road. Young workers were in celebratory mood, senior leaders were watching election results and supporters and workers stayed glued to huge LCD screens telecasting live result updates.
When the clock struck 11.30 am, the pendulum swung in BJP's favour and the scene at two places was no longer the same. By that time most of Congress office-bearers made an exit, an eerie silence permeated Indira Bhavan, and the mood among those who stayed back outside office was one of despondency. The discussion, quite predictably, revolved around what went wrong.
A few km away, awash with saffron flags, BJP office was a beehive of activity till late night. Distribution of sweets over the steady march of the party began from as early as 10 am and party workers congratulated each other. BJYM state president Amardeep Mouraye with young workers and women swayed to dholak tunes as cameramen in large numbers tried to catch glimpse of celebrations. Slogans of fir Bhajpa, fir Shivraj and sabse jyada neta mahaaan, apna Chouhan apna Chouhan rented the air. Congratulatory banners were uploaded on the BJP website before afternoon. Celebrations reached a crescendo at about 6 pm when party mascot and chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other senior leaders visited the party office.