Galloway victory: The morning after one of the most bitterly fought campaigns in the British election, Bethnal Green High Street in London's East End is uncharacteristically quiet, many of its shops still shuttered and stallholder pitches empty.
"They're all still drunk with Galloway," jokes one fruit and vegetable seller who is at work on Friday.
George Galloway, a radical left-winger who was expelled from the Labour Party over his strong opposition to the invasion of Iraq, stood for the Respect party and stormed to victory in this Muslim-dominated district.
Mr Galloway (50) used his victory speech to launch a withering attack on the prime minister who on Thursday became the first Labour party leader to win a third term.
"All the people you killed, all the lies you told, have come back to haunt you," he said. "The best thing the Labour Party could do is sack you tomorrow morning," he added to cheers from the audience.
Ridiculed during the campaign for being a friend of Saddam Hussein, Mr Galloway had previously visited the former Iraqi leader and was once caught on video praising his strength and courage.
He defeated Labour candidate Oona King, who had supported Blair throughout the campaign.
Nicknamed "Gorgeous George" for his permanent tan and smart suits, Galloway ousted King, a black Jewish woman defending a 10,057-vote majority. He won by 823 votes and declared it a victory for Iraq.
The former Labour MP for Glasgow Kelvin characterised King as a "poodle" for supporting the war. But after the result, both candidates shook hands and remained gracious.
"Oona King is an able person who will be back in politics and in parliament," Galloway said. "The defeat was not her defeat this evening. It was a defeat for Tony Blair and New Labour and all of the betrayals."
Many Muslims in the constituency believe Galloway's victory has sent a signal to the country's leadership that the Muslim vote has come of age.
"There were Muslim candidates, but I did not vote for them," one voter said. "I voted for the person who could - and did - win. Now Blair knows we are not to be taken for granted when he makes decisions that we find unconscionable."
It was not only Bethnal Green's Muslim residents who were happy to see the Labour Party defeated here.
"Now he knows he can't do what he wants, the British people won't stand for it," said John Evans, a life-long Labour supporter who voted for the Conservatives.
For many here, the sense of celebration is muted by a conviction that after Bethnal Green's brief moment in the spotlight, life in this underprivileged part of London will return to normal.
The Muslim Association of Britain claimed that tactical voting by Muslims angry over the war in Iraq played a role in denting Mr Blair's majority.
"The results of the general election have clearly reflected the depth of frustration and anger throughout the country as to the government's position on Iraq," said the MAB, a Muslim campaign group.