Jubilant dancing and bursting of firecrackers went on well into Friday night and early Saturday in many places in the northeast, especially Assam, to celebrate the victory of Assamese singer Debojit Saha in the hit "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005" music contest.

Debojot, a 29-year old from the southern Assamese town of Silchar, won Zee TV's contest beating 17-year old Vinit Singh in a closely fought contest held in Mumbai, earning the coveted title 'India's Voice'.

The winner was decided by public voting through SMS, telephone, and through the Internet - a total of about 55 million votes were polled.

Debojit won the contest by a margin of about 459,470 votes, the results of which were announced in a live show aired on Zee TV past midnight.

"I am thankful to the people of India and my home state Assam for their support and blessings. I don't have words to express my feelings," Debojit told by telephone from Mumbai after the results.

Such was the craze for the local singer that people across the northeast, especially in Assam and Tripura, went wild with joy dancing and bursting firecrackers till the wee hours Saturday.

"Debojit's victory is a victory for the people of the northeast," Samujjal Bhattacharyya, leader of the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), told.

The highly rated musical TV show was able to generate so much hype that even a separatist group had the time to react, besides chief ministers and governors of the northeast who voted for the local hero in the runup to the grand finale Friday.

Youths of the Debojit fan club across the northeast went hysterical, taking out last minute processions appealing for votes with giant TV screens put up at vantage locations for viewers to watch the show together.

"We danced and celebrated the whole night as our very own Debojit has stolen the show. Many in Bollywood thought how someone from a remote region could be competing in such a big show but all were proved wrong," said Arnab Deka, a young entrepreneur, who was joined by a boisterous crowd dancing on the streets.

Debojit, in the past few shows, had been the leader polling the highest numbers of votes - bulk of which was from Assam and the other northeastern states -thereby triggering a debate among the show's musical mentors as to its format.

The journey for Debojit has indeed been remarkable - from being one among 32 contestants to winning the prestigious title, the musical show has rolled very well for this young engineer from Silchar.

Debojit not only hit the high octaves perfectly in the singing contest but was able to win the hearts of many who on their own formed fan clubs and plastered almost every nook and corner of the northeast with posters and banners urging the people to vote for him.