Oppn on 'Cloud Ten': Bags 10 out of 13 assembly seats in bypolls

Subhasish Mitra (Wide Angle)

The results of the recent Assembly bye-elections have given a fresh boost to the morale of the resurgent Opposition. The victory of the opposition parties in 10 out of 13 seats spread over seven states that went to polls amply shows that the wind is still blowing in its favour.

 

The results are significant in view of the upcoming Assembly elections in three states — Haryana, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra.

 

While the INDIA bloc bagged 10 of the 13 seats, the BJP could win two, and the remaining seat was grabbed by an independent in Bihar.

 

Analysts say the Congress has not lost momentum since the results of the general election and that the BJP has to do a better homework. The failure to win the Badrinath constituency in Uttarakhand should particularly worry the BJP.

 

They, however, say that these results will have little bearing in Parliament during the upcoming Budget session, except that the opposition will try to get more aggressive.

 

A break-up of the results shows that the Congress won four seats - two in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand and two in Himachal Pradesh. The TMC bagged all the four seats in West Bengal while the AAP won the Jalandhar West seat in Punjab and the DMK emerged victorious in the Vikravandi constituency in Tamil Nadu.

 

The BJP won the Hamirpur seat in Himachal Pradesh while Independent candidate Shankar Singh clinched the Rupauli seat in Bihar.

 

On excepted lines, the Congress hailed the results, saying they "reflect the changing political climate in the country" and it has now become clear that the web of "fear and illusion woven by the BJP has been broken".

 

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee thanked the people of her state as the Trinamool Congress continued its winning streak from the recent Lok Sabha elections by wresting Raiganj, Bagda and Ranaghat Dakshin seats from the BJP and securing a record victory margin in Maniktala.

 

Banerjee's Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin said the BJP should learn lessons from its defeats. He described his party's victory as people's "thanksgiving" to DMK regime's welfare schemes.

 

On the other hand, happy over the outcome in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the people have reposed their faith in the BJP government's "guarantee of trust".

 

Political observers say by-poll results indicate that the BJP’s politics is encountering some resistance on the ground. Of particular mention is Himachal Pradesh where the Congress won two of the three Assembly seats that fell vacant after three independent MLAs joined the BJP after resigning their seats.

 

The outcome of the byelections also shows that the issues that the Opposition had raised during the general election — livelihood concerns, inequality, a festering agrarian crisis, poverty, etc — still draw a response from the ground.

 

Taking a cue from this, the INDIA bloc should chalk out a common electoral strategy and cooperate with alliance partners before the next round of assembly elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana.

 

As of now, the Opposition, especially the Congress, is undoubtedly buoyed by the results. It's more than being on cloud nine.