Voters praised over Mumbai factor

Congress supporters celebrate retaining control of Delhi

The Indian media have praised voters for refusing to allow the attacks in Mumbai to dominate the recent elections in six key states.

Livelihood issues on a local level were more of a concern for voters and the main opposition BJP was criticised for playing the "terror card".

The ruling Congress party won three states, the BJP two, while voting in Jammu and Kashmir is ongoing.

India must hold a general election before May next year.

'Sigh of relief'

Writing for the BBC, leading political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan said the "Mumbai attacks became an 11th-hour poll issue, but the campaign fell flat".

"Terror as an issue did not polarise voters on religious lines; in fact the bid to politicise the subject did not yield a political benefit."

See a map of states voting

With all the votes counted, Congress won Delhi by 42 seats to the Bharatiya Janata Party's 23 and captured Rajasthan, winning 96 seats to the BJP's 78.

In Mizoram in the north-east, Congress swept back to power for the first time in a decade. It won 32 of the 40 seats.

ELECTION TIMETABLE 14 and 20 November: Chattisgarh 27 November: Madhya Pradesh 17 November to 24 December: Jammu and Kashmir 29 November: Delhi 2 December: Mizoram 4 December: Rajasthan India state elections guide Why the state polls matter

The BJP easily won Madhya Pradesh, by 143 seats to Congress's 71, although it was closer in Chhattisgarh, where it defeated Congress by 43 seats to 35.

The BJP's president, Rajnath Singh, said: "Local issues were more important. And I think the electorate had beforehand made up their mind on which candidate and party to vote for."

Congress spokesman Veerappa Moily said: "This is the beginning of the decline of the BJP."

In its editorial, the Times of India said: "[Voters] recognise terrorism, especially the kind witnessed in Mumbai, as a war waged on the nation.

"During war, people rally around the government to fight the threat from outside. The Congress can heave a huge sigh of relief... It may be time for the BJP to go back to the drawing board."

The Hindustan Times said that "local issues of governance won the day" with voters responding to the performance of the parties in their state.

The paper said there was nothing in the results to suggest the general election date would be advanced.

"Congress hopes inflation will dip sharply from March 2009 onwards and by April-May the party will be in comfortable position," the paper wrote.

The Hindu agreed that livelihood concerns and local issues were paramount and that there had been no Mumbai "panic attack".

"The real message voters have sent out is, in balance, a reassuring one: elections are not single-issue affairs, no matter what the propaganda of those who claim to be riding this or that emotional wave," it wrote.

The Asian Age said the vote was a "refreshing repudiation of the idea of ratcheting up the communal temperature".

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