With trends indicating a big victory for the Congress, hundreds of supporters thronged the party headquarters at Akbar Road and the nearby residence of president Sonia Gandhi, many breaking out into a celebratory jig to the bursting of firecrackers.
Two hours into counting, chants of "Jai Ho" broke out among Congress cadres as some TV channels announced "Manmohan Singh to remain PM".
Drummers had already reached the the Congress office. Scores of young people were seen milling around, dancing and shouting "We want Rahul Gandhi as PM".
'Havans' (fire rituals) were held outside the Congress office by a 19-year-old hardcore supporter, who went by the name of Prince Singh. He said he was organising these public prayers for a "Congress sweep and development for the country".
There was no early reaction from major party leaders, who still were glued to television and not wanting to give any premature reaction lest the trends get reversed, which seemed extremely unlikely at the moment.
Gloom descended on the headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with party supporters looking glum and disbelieving. Many of their leaders like VK Malhotra, Balbir Punj and others were huddled together but had no reactions to pestering media.
{{/usCountry}}Gloom descended on the headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with party supporters looking glum and disbelieving. Many of their leaders like VK Malhotra, Balbir Punj and others were huddled together but had no reactions to pestering media.
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