Hyderabad’s leading daily Siasat has discerned some good news for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the election results. In an editorial on December 12 (online edition), it says: “Leaving aside the number of seats (won by the BSP), if one considers the percentage of votes secured by this party, it would be difficult to ignore it. While this achievement of the BSP is of great significance for Mayawati’s ambitions, it has created problems for the Congress and the party would have to face these problems in the future too.”

Bush - Shoe

While the Urdu press may have been expected to go on about the infamous “shoe-hurling” episode at a press conference in Baghdad, they have been quite restrained on the matter, and criticised the act as “not praiseworthy” but as a “sign of helplessness” (Hindustan Express on December 16). The paper has, however, also termed Bush as ‘be-sharam’ (shameless) in its headline.

Compiled by Seema Chisthi