Bhopal, Dec 3 Untill 11 am on Sunday, the atmosphere at the Madhya Pradesh Congress headquarters was celebratory, as opposed to the BJP headquarters, where the workers were a bit subdued, though the party had maintained a lead right from the time of counting of ballot papers.
The Congress workers were hopeful that things would change after the EVM vote counting began. However, the BJP continued to lead, leaving the Congress tally much behind by 11 am.
Seeing that the BJP was leading even in those seats where the Congress had not lost since 2008, the confidence of Congress workers waned. And when the BJP's lead crossed the 150-mark, a kind of nervousness was visible at the Congress’ headquarters.
Former Chief Minister Kamal Nath had arrived at the party office early and he was given a massive welcome by slogan-shouting supporters. He interacted with the Press and said he was confident that the Congress would snatch power from the BJP.
After that Kamal Nath went to the war room set up on the top floor of the party headquarters. Later, former Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh and senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha also joined him in the war room.
The expectations of the Congress could also be assessed by the fact that posters with congratulatory messages had been put up around the party headquarters on Saturday night.
Not only did the Congress workers put up posters, but even the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPPC) in an advisory issued to the party's counting agents late on Saturday had a congratulatory message. The very first line of that notice mention read, "agrim badhai" (congratulations in advance).
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