New Delhi: In a saffron wave that swept the Hindi heartland, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wrested power today (Dec 4, 2003) in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh from Congress, which stormed back to power in Delhi with two-thirds majority.

The stunning victory for BJP, which Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said he did not expect, came as an anti-incumbency wave dislodged the decade-old Digvijay Singh Government in Madhya Pradesh, blunted the cash-on-camera scam in Chhattisgarh and gave the party its biggest victory in Rajasthan.

Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are all set to get women Chief Ministers for the first time with the BJP candidates Uma Bharti and Vasundhara Raje winning with huge margins in Bada Malhara and Jalrapatan respectively.

The saffron sweep was so comprehensive in Rajasthan that many Congress stalwarts including two Deputy Chief Ministers - Kamla Beniwal and Banwarilal Bhairwa - besides Home Minister Ghulab Singh Shakhtawat fell by the way side.

PTI