UP, Gujarat, UT, Punjab- Election 2007

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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->But for the last minute support of the <b>Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, which clearly tilted scales in at least 15 seats in and around district Bathinda, the Congress would have faced a near rout</b>. It also paid heavily for its single-minded thrust to hijack the panthic agenda of the Akali Dal in the rural areas but at the cost of the urban areas.

The BJP, whose showing in 2002 was dismal, encashed on the Congress neglect of the urban areas, especially in the latter's <b>stronghold of Doaba (in and around district Jalandhar). The BJP performed creditably this time, winning 19 of the 23 seats - unprecedented in Punjab's electoral history.</b> This helped the SAD-BJP combine to reverse the tide - in 2002 polls, while the Congress won 62 seats, the SAD-BJP won 44, of which the BJP had only a total of three.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Congress performance in Malwa is directly linked with the influence of Dera Sacha Sauda which though based in Sirsa in Haryana, has a <b>large following, especially among the Dalits</b>, in at least five districts around Bathinda. <b>In some constituencies dera voters were to the tune of 10,000 each</b>. A senior Punjab official posted in the area said that the <b>dera may have influenced the result in about 16 seats, where the margins of victory are less than 5,000 votes</b>.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->"Not only the Sikh voters voted for the BJP, the Hindu voters too voted for the Akali Dal - unlike in the past," said Chandigarh-based political analyst and statistician, Pritam Singh Kumedan<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Dera Sacha Sauda helped Congress. But it also caused complete rout in cities, where majority of Hindus vote.