Srinagar, Dec 3: Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) President Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said that the Congress, a grand old party of the state is witnessing defeat in assembly polls because it has no issue of minorities in its agenda.

After the Bharatiya Janata Party appears to have taken a giant leap in the results of the assembly polls in three states- Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Azad spoke to the reporters and said that the Congress did not mention the issues that the minorities are facing across the country.

"One thing that I've noticed in the last 20-25 days is that the Congress which was considered as the champion of minorities, didn't talk about the minorities... Now minorities are not in the agenda of Congress...'' Azad, a former Congress leader said.

The Bhartiya Janata Party appears to be pulling off a spectacular victory to sweep Congress out of power in the three heartland states by successfully defending its government in Madhya Pradesh and wresting back power from the Congress in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

Congress, the party, which till this morning, was hoping to retain Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and register a win in Madhya Pradesh, is now trailing far behind the BJP in all three.

The Congress which had just one Lok Sabha seat in MP and just two in Chhattisgarh will now realise that it no longer holds any aces in the Hindi Heartland and is now a party relegated to the South of the Vindhyas.

The loss of the three states in the heartland will greatly worry the Congress, it means there are no takers here for the Congress' electoral volley 'Caste Census'.

The BJP appeared to upset the ruling Congress' applecart in Chhattisgarh, forging ahead in 55 of the 90 assembly seats, while the grand old party led in 32 seats, as per the latest information available with the Election Commission.

As per the latest figures available from the Election Commission, the
BJP was leading in 161 of the 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh, while the Congress was ahead in 67 seats.

The BJP crossed the halfway mark in Rajasthan with its candidates leading in 111 seats while the Congress was ahead in 73. The lone spark of joy for the Congress has come from Telangana where it is poised to form a government on its own.

In Telangana, Congress is set to dethrone Chandrasekhar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), which has been in power since 2014, when Telangana was granted statehood, by crossing the halfway mark. (ANI)

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