New Delhi, May 13 (IANS): Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for continuously trying to destabilise the UPA government, senior Congress leader and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday said the assembly election results should teach the opposition party the "right lesson".

He said the opposition was trying to destabilise the government in the last one year.

"From the last one year efforts were made to destabilize the system and bring instability in the country. From that point of view these elections have conveyed a very clear message," Mukerjee said at the Congress headquarters after the results of the five states were out.

Buttressing his point, Mukherjee said the polls were held in more than 800 assembly seats in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

Elections were held in 294 assembly seats in West bengal, 234 in Tamil Nadu, 126 in Assam, 140 in Kerala and 30 in Puducherry.

"A national party, which claims to form government in these states, of course, they did not contest on all the seats but a large number of seats they contested..., they could not win a double digit figure," he said and reeled off the tally of the BJP -- zero in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry and five seats in Assam and one in West Bengal.

In a stern message, he said the opposition just to fulfil its "individual ambitions" should not do anything to "bring uncertainty and instability to the country".

He said "certain political parties who want to destabilise the union government" could not reconcile themselves to the fact that despite their efforts to dislodge the UPA government, "people gave a renewed mandate, an expanded mandate by increasing the strength of the Congress from 147 to 206..., but they could not reconcile it".

Discussing the landslide victory of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mamata Banerjee, an ally of Congress, Mukherjee said: "In Bengal, a frail woman within 13 years of launching of her TMC party dismantled the strong CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) party by reducing them not to three but two digit figure," said a smiling Mukherjee.

"People of Bengal have given their verdict clearly in favour of Mamata Banerjee," he added.

He then spoke about Kerala, where the Congress-led United Democratic Front won by a very narrow margin, defeating the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF).

"In Kerala, as per the old tradition the number of vote percentage and number of seats this time also has reduced, but it is for change. Both in Kerala, West Bengal it is for change," he added.

Speaking about the victory of Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who won for the third consecutive term, the senior Congress leader said the verdict was for "stability, development and reconciliation".

"In Assam, with their renewed and expanded mandate, Congress party led by Tarun Gogoi from 53 to 78 is both for stability, development and reconciliation," he added.

Needling the BJP again, Mukherjee hoped the opposition would learn a lesson from the results.

"Therefore I do hope that political parties that participated in the elections will draw the right lessons and behave," he said.

He said the "opposition parties should wait for another three years when the Lok Sabha elections comes to contest and with the support of the people defeat the ruling party, incumbent government... that is the job of the opposition".

"But in the process to fulfil their individual ambitions they should not do anything which will bring uncertainty and instability," he said.