Supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were shown on television dancing and setting off fireworks early into the morning in the streets of central Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and western Rajasthan states.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's BJP ousted Sonia Gandhi's Congress in Monday's assembly polls in the three states, doubling the number of provinces in India where it rules.

But Congress easily retained Delhi, albeit with a majority cut by the BJP.

The extent of the victories in the three Hindi heartland states surprised even the BJP, which rules the country in coalition, but its leaders made it clear that they would not be tempted into an early vote for national parliamentary elections.

The general vote is due by October next year, and analysts had predicted that if the Hindu nationalists had managed to win two of the four states, it may have been persuaded to go for a February poll to cash in on the state victories.

But Vajpayee and his deputy, Lal Krishna Advani, both ruled out this option as the results came in on Thursday.

Advani added, however: "This round of elections has certainly strengthened the BJP's position for the coming general elections."

The polls, seen as a barometer of next year's vote, marked the most significant gains since the Hindu nationalists came to power in 1998.

Analysts quoted in the Indian media on Friday blamed Congress' poor showing on typical aversion to an incumbent party, but they also fingered Gandhi's leadership.

The Asian Age, whose main story was headlined "Congress wrecked, Sonia sunk", said Congress leaders had admitted that they should have spent more time addressing development issues, particularly in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, India's two largest states respectively in terms of area.

In Rajasthan, the BJP picked up 87 seats to secure a majority of 120 in the 200-seat assembly. Congress went down 96 seats to win just 57.