There is state of political upheaval these days in the nation. Narendra Modi is standing tall and firm and he has sent ripples of insecurity among all political parties. Leaders are worried about their future. There is state of panic among parties opposed to BJP and everybody is willing to go to any extent to secure his political future.

Sworn enemies are coming close and burying the hatchet deep. Just now, eternal die-hard enemies the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party joined hands for Gorakhpur & Phulpur by-elections.

Ideologies and official party lines have gone for a toss. Raj Thackeray and Sharad Pawar are exploring each other for a possible tie-up. More bizarre is the fact that Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called on Uddhav Thackeray when she visited Mumbai recently. This is ground-breaking as both parties have ideologies which are diametrically opposite to each other, literally.

Regional satraps have their own ambitions. Everybody is trying to become the anti-Modi crusader.

But it is very much visible that in all this jugglery Congress is going to be the biggest loser in days to come. It was so very well manifested in the recent Phulpur & Gorakhpur bypolls. In Phulpur and Gorakhpur during general elections in 2014, Congress begged a six per cent and four per cent votes. Forty five months down the line, in the recent bypolls, when there was a mass shifting of votes from the BJP's share, Congress's vote share further plummeted to an unbelievable two and & 2.6 per cent respectively.

So even if we consider a case where voters get alienated from BJP, they don't see Congress as an option.

The game of politics is simple. You need to keep some compelling reason alive for voters to vote for you. This compelling reason is of two types - either you generate a feeling among voters on macro-level i.e. on the broad national level, or you should have the grip on the votes due to regional reasons.

Take the case of BJP. BJP commands vote on both the accounts. People believe that BJP is a strong organisation with strong central leadership and thus it succeeds. Moreover, since BJP has strong regional presence and leadership (like UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Madhya Paradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh) and in most part of India BJP connects with voters well on regional issues/sentiments, it commands votes on this aspect too.

Regional parties like Shiv Sena, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Telugu Desam Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal will keep floating for the time to come as they somehow or other will keep a connection on the ground with their understanding of the regional issues and their strong cadre at the grassroot level.

Congress fails miserably on both the accounts. They at this point in time, are far from being a national alternative under the almost non-existence central leadership. Over the years, weak leadership at the top has also resulted in steep depletion of its cadre across the nation. Barring Punjab, Rajasthan and to an extent Karnataka, Congress has completely lost base on the ground. The loss has gone to an extent and to a point that it is now more or less irreversible.

In this scenario, a united front under the leadership of Congress (read Rahul Gandhi) is highly improbable. Regional parties know the political acumen and patronage of Rahul Gandhi and simply shy away from any association with them. Taking a cue from the SP-Congress tie-up last year in UP assembly poll, regional parties now realise that any association with Congress will only weaken their regional selling points among voters. The crux is that regional parties may be interested to shake hand with anybody, but Congress.

So the way politics is going on these days and the way regional parties are trying to keep themselves afloat amid the Modi wave, it is likely that Congress will be left alone in the race and votes will get polarised towards BJP and regional parties in days to come.

It is high time that Congress leadership smells the coffee before it gets too late. By answering the questions of gatherings in Singapore and Malaysia, the Congress president will not garner support back home. He needs to make his party relevant for those who really matter i.e. Indian voters.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Even if voters get alienated from BJP, they don't see Congress as an option.

There is state of political upheaval these days in the nation. Narendra Modi is standing tall and firm and he has sent ripples of insecurity among all political parties. Leaders are worried about their future. There is state of panic among parties opposed to BJP and everybody is willing to go to any extent to secure his political future. Sworn enemies are coming close and burying the hatchet deep. Just now, eternal die-hard enemies the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party joined hands for Gorakhpur & Phulpur by-elections. Ideologies and official party lines have gone for a toss. Raj Thackeray and Sharad Pawar are exploring each other for a possible tie-up. More bizarre is the fact that Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called on Uddhav Thackeray when she visited Mumbai recently. This is ground-breaking as both parties have ideologies which are diametrically opposite to each other, literally. Regional satraps have their own ambitions. Everybody is trying to become the anti-Modi crusader. But it is very much visible that in all this jugglery Congress is going to be the biggest loser in days to come. It was so very well manifested in the recent Phulpur & Gorakhpur bypolls. In Phulpur and Gorakhpur during general elections in 2014, Congress begged a six per cent and four per cent votes. Forty five months down the line, in the recent bypolls, when there was a mass shifting of votes from the BJP's share, Congress's vote share further plummeted to an unbelievable two and & 2.6 per cent respectively. So even if we consider a case where voters get alienated from BJP, they don't see Congress as an option. The game of politics is simple. You need to keep some compelling reason alive for voters to vote for you. This compelling reason is of two types - either you generate a feeling among voters on macro-level i.e. on the broad national level, or you should have the grip on the votes due to regional reasons. Take the case of BJP. BJP commands vote on both the accounts. People believe that BJP is a strong organisation with strong central leadership and thus it succeeds. Moreover, since BJP has strong regional presence and leadership (like UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Madhya Paradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh) and in most part of India BJP connects with voters well on regional issues/sentiments, it commands votes on this aspect too. Regional parties like Shiv Sena, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Telugu Desam Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal will keep floating for the time to come as they somehow or other will keep a connection on the ground with their understanding of the regional issues and their strong cadre at the grassroot level. Congress fails miserably on both the accounts. They at this point in time, are far from being a national alternative under the almost non-existence central leadership. Over the years, weak leadership at the top has also resulted in steep depletion of its cadre across the nation. Barring Punjab, Rajasthan and to an extent Karnataka, Congress has completely lost base on the ground. The loss has gone to an extent and to a point that it is now more or less irreversible. In this scenario, a united front under the leadership of Congress (read Rahul Gandhi) is highly improbable. Regional parties know the political acumen and patronage of Rahul Gandhi and simply shy away from any association with them. Taking a cue from the SP-Congress tie-up last year in UP assembly poll, regional parties now realise that any association with Congress will only weaken their regional selling points among voters. The crux is that regional parties may be interested to shake hand with anybody, but Congress. So the way politics is going on these days and the way regional parties are trying to keep themselves afloat amid the Modi wave, it is likely that Congress will be left alone in the race and votes will get polarised towards BJP and regional parties in days to come. It is high time that Congress leadership smells the coffee before it gets too late. By answering the questions of gatherings in Singapore and Malaysia, the Congress president will not garner support back home. He needs to make his party relevant for those who really matter i.e. Indian voters. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: In current anti-Modi rhetoric by regional parties, Congress tends to be the biggest loser

There is state of political upheaval these days in the nation. Narendra Modi is standing tall and firm and he has sent ripples of insecurity among all political parties. Leaders are worried about their future. There is state of panic among parties opposed to BJP and everybody is willing to go to any extent to secure his political future.

Sworn enemies are coming close and burying the hatchet deep. Just now, eternal die-hard enemies the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party joined hands for Gorakhpur &amp; Phulpur by-elections.

Ideologies and official party lines have gone for a toss. Raj Thackeray and Sharad Pawar are exploring each other for a possible tie-up. More bizarre is the fact that Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called on Uddhav Thackeray when she visited Mumbai recently. This is ground-breaking as both parties have ideologies which are diametrically opposite to each other, literally.

Regional satraps have their own ambitions. Everybody is trying to become the anti-Modi crusader.

But it is very much visible that in all this jugglery Congress is going to be the biggest loser in days to come. It was so very well manifested in the recent Phulpur &amp; Gorakhpur bypolls. In Phulpur and Gorakhpur during general elections in 2014, Congress begged a six per cent and four per cent votes. Forty five months down the line, in the recent bypolls, when there was a mass shifting of votes from the BJP&#39;s share, Congress&#39;s vote share further plummeted to an unbelievable two and &amp; 2.6 per cent respectively.

So even if we consider a case where voters get alienated from BJP, they don&#39;t see Congress as an option.

The game of politics is simple. You need to keep some compelling reason alive for voters to vote for you. This compelling reason is of two types - either you generate a feeling among voters on macro-level i.e. on the broad national level, or you should have the grip on the votes due to regional reasons.

Take the case of BJP. BJP commands vote on both the accounts. People believe that BJP is a strong organisation with strong central leadership and thus it succeeds. Moreover, since BJP has strong regional presence and leadership (like UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Madhya Paradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh) and in most part of India BJP connects with voters well on regional issues/sentiments, it commands votes on this aspect too.

Regional parties like Shiv Sena, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Telugu Desam Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal will keep floating for the time to come as they somehow or other will keep a connection on the ground with their understanding of the regional issues and their strong cadre at the grassroot level.

Congress fails miserably on both the accounts. They at this point in time, are far from being a national alternative under the almost non-existence central leadership. Over the years, weak leadership at the top has also resulted in steep depletion of its cadre across the nation. Barring Punjab, Rajasthan and to an extent Karnataka, Congress has completely lost base on the ground. The loss has gone to an extent and to a point that it is now more or less irreversible.

In this scenario, a united front under the leadership of Congress (read Rahul Gandhi) is highly improbable. Regional parties know the political acumen and patronage of Rahul Gandhi and simply shy away from any association with them. Taking a cue from the SP-Congress tie-up last year in UP assembly poll, regional parties now realise that any association with Congress will only weaken their regional selling points among voters. The crux is that regional parties may be interested to shake hand with anybody, but Congress.

So the way politics is going on these days and the way regional parties are trying to keep themselves afloat amid the Modi wave, it is likely that Congress will be left alone in the race and votes will get polarised towards BJP and regional parties in days to come.

It is high time that Congress leadership smells the coffee before it gets too late. By answering the questions of gatherings in Singapore and Malaysia, the Congress president will not garner support back home. He needs to make his party relevant for those who really matter i.e. Indian voters.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Samajwadi Party candidates were leading in Uttar Pradesh&#39;s Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha constituencies after initial rounds of counting of votes cast in the by-elections.&nbsp;

Besides these seats and Bihar&#39;s Araria, counting of votes also commenced on Wednesday amid tight security for the Assembly constituencies Jahanabad and Bhabua in Bihar.

Reacting to BJP&rsquo;s poor show in the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh bypolls, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said &ldquo;the beginning of the end has started&rdquo; as she congratulated the SP, BSP and the RJD.

In a series of tweets, Mamata said: &ldquo;Great victory. Congratulations to Mayawati Ji and @yadavakhilesh Ji for #UPByPolls. The beginning of the end has started.&rdquo;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Great victory. Congratulations to Mayawati Ji and <a href="https://twitter.com/yadavakhilesh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@yadavakhilesh</a> Ji for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UPByPolls?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UPByPolls</a> The beginning of the end has started
&mdash; Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/MamataOfficial/status/973842235971137536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Congratulations to <a href="https://twitter.com/laluprasadrjd?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@laluprasadrjd</a> Ji for winning <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Araria?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Araria</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jehanabad?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jehanabad</a> This is a great victory
&mdash; Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/MamataOfficial/status/973843034428198912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The RJD-led Grand Alliance in Bihar took a lead&nbsp;over the BJP in the Araria Lok Sabha and the Jahanabad Assembly seats while the BJP was ahead in the Bhabhua Assembly seat.

SP workers have started celebrations in Lucknow and raised &#39;Bhua-Bhateeja zindabad&#39; slogans.

The SP-BSP alliance seems to be wresting control of Gorakhpur from the BJP as the alliance has taken a lead of over 15,000 votes.&nbsp;

The seat, represented by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for last five terms, is considered the saffron party&#39;s stronghold.&nbsp;

In Phulpur, a seat formerly held by deputy CM Keshav Maurya, the Samajwadi Party is leading by over 23, O00 votes.&nbsp;

The voter turnout was 47.45% in Gorakhpur and 37.39% in Phulpur on March 11. Gorakhpur is significant for the BJP as it is the bastion of the chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who represented the seat in the Lok Sabha five times.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, tweeted, "Great victory. Congratulations to Mayawati Ji and Akhilesh Yadav Ji for UP bypoll results. The beginning of the end has started."

Samajwadi Party candidates were leading in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha constituencies after initial rounds of counting of votes cast in the by-elections. Besides these seats and Bihar's Araria, counting of votes also commenced on Wednesday amid tight security for the Assembly constituencies Jahanabad and Bhabua in Bihar. Reacting to BJP’s poor show in the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh bypolls, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said “the beginning of the end has started” as she congratulated the SP, BSP and the RJD. In a series of tweets, Mamata said: “Great victory. Congratulations to Mayawati Ji and @yadavakhilesh Ji for #UPByPolls. The beginning of the end has started.” Great victory. Congratulations to Mayawati Ji and @yadavakhilesh Ji for #UPByPolls The beginning of the end has started — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) March 14, 2018 × Congratulations to @laluprasadrjd Ji for winning #Araria and #Jehanabad This is a great victory — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) March 14, 2018 × The RJD-led Grand Alliance in Bihar took a lead over the BJP in the Araria Lok Sabha and the Jahanabad Assembly seats while the BJP was ahead in the Bhabhua Assembly seat. SP workers have started celebrations in Lucknow and raised 'Bhua-Bhateeja zindabad' slogans. The SP-BSP alliance seems to be wresting control of Gorakhpur from the BJP as the alliance has taken a lead of over 15,000 votes. The seat, represented by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for last five terms, is considered the saffron party's stronghold. In Phulpur, a seat formerly held by deputy CM Keshav Maurya, the Samajwadi Party is leading by over 23, O00 votes. The voter turnout was 47.45% in Gorakhpur and 37.39% in Phulpur on March 11. Gorakhpur is significant for the BJP as it is the bastion of the chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who represented the seat in the Lok Sabha five times.

'The beginning of the end has started,' tweets Mamata Banerjee on bypoll results

Around noon, the expressions of BJP leaders in television studios across the country depicted the party&#39;s swing in fortunes as the Bharatiya Janata Party trailed after seven rounds of counting in Gorakhpur and Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh. The RJD is ahead in Araria in Bihar and that is a seat that the BJP would have liked to wrest - all-in-all not a good morning for BJP&#39;s polls pundits and spokespersons. Added to that were reports doing the rounds that media persons were not allowed inside the counting venue in Gorakhpur.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/live-gorakhpur-phulpur-bypoll-results-bjp-takes-early-lead-in-adityanaths-bastion-35747">Track Live Updates of Goraphpur and Phulpur Bypoll Results</a>

Poll authorities clarified that while the press was inside the campus, they could not be let near the electronic voting machines per the Election Commission guidelines.

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Media is inside counting campus since morning. As per ECI instructions media can&#39;t be allowed in the area of EVMs. There is a Media Centre inside the Campus: EC on Gorakhpur DM not allowing the media to enter counting area despite having valid EC passes <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GorakhpurByPollResult?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GorakhpurByPollResult</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/973813886653739008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

When early trends had indicated BJP candidates were leading, Samajwadi Party candidate from Gorakhpur Praveen Kumar Nishad levelled allegations of EVM tampering. &quot;I am confident of my victory and that is what people are saying that SP&#39;s grand alliance will win this seat but there is a doubt in everyone&#39;s mind regarding EVM machines. The government can do anything using state administration,&quot; Nishad said. Perhaps those doubts were dispelled in later rounds when results were more favourable.

So why are two bypolls in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha such a big deal? After all, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government in the Centre has such a big majority that a couple of seats would not result in a big shift in fortunes for the government.

For one, the Opposition takes any win as a sign that the BJP&#39;s poll juggernaut can be stopped. They have had little cause to celebrate after 2014. The BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah have notched up victory after victory - the only exceptions to the case being Delhi and Punjab - and now over 70% of India lives in BJP or BJP-ally-ruled states.

The other reason for such a keen interest in these polls is that both seats in Uttar Pradesh are prestige battles. The current Uttar Pardesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath represented Gorakhpur for five consecutive terms. He vacated the seat in 2017 after the BJP and its allies swept into power in Uttar Pradesh, winning 325 of the 403 assembly seats in the state. The Phulpur seat, once represented by India&#39;s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, had been vacated by Keshav Prasad Maurya, who was state BJP chief and is currently the Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Losing these seats would no doubt result in a loss of face for the party. In 2014, the BJP&#39;s victory margin in Gorakhpur was over 300,000 with Yogi Adityanath winning over half the votes polled. In Phulpur the margins were better for Keshav Prasad Maurya who polled 52% of the votes.

All Opposition parties would be keenly watching the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party experiment where they pooled their resources to combine against the BJP. This win may be the harbinger for a larger national alliance in 2019. The SP-BSP are not only combining their resources for bypolls but will also support one another in the Rajya Sabha polls later this month. BSP supreme Mayawati, who hasn&#39;t fielded a candidate in these polls, insists that there is <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/bsp-sp-alliance-rumours-for-2019-lok-sabha-elections-false-mayawati-34623">no &#39;alliance&#39; yet</a> and it is just an &#39;agreement&#39; - mere semantics say observers.

The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/videos/bihar-up-by-polls-to-test-new-political-dynamics-9211">Bihar elections</a>, being seen as a referendum on chief minister Nitish Kumar, is also going the BJP&#39;s way. The BJP last year partnered with Kumar to form the government after the chief minister broke off ties with Lalu Prasad Yadav&#39;s Rashtriya Janata Dal. The Araria by-election was necessitated after the death of RJD&#39;s Mohammed Taslimuddin. His son, Sarfarz Alam, is the party&#39;s candidate in these elections and widely expected top retain the seat.

BJP trails in the prestige battles in Gorakhpur and Phulpur, RJD ahead in Araria.

Around noon, the expressions of BJP leaders in television studios across the country depicted the party's swing in fortunes as the Bharatiya Janata Party trailed after seven rounds of counting in Gorakhpur and Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh. The RJD is ahead in Araria in Bihar and that is a seat that the BJP would have liked to wrest - all-in-all not a good morning for BJP's polls pundits and spokespersons. Added to that were reports doing the rounds that media persons were not allowed inside the counting venue in Gorakhpur. Track Live Updates of Goraphpur and Phulpur Bypoll Results Poll authorities clarified that while the press was inside the campus, they could not be let near the electronic voting machines per the Election Commission guidelines. Media is inside counting campus since morning. As per ECI instructions media can't be allowed in the area of EVMs. There is a Media Centre inside the Campus: EC on Gorakhpur DM not allowing the media to enter counting area despite having valid EC passes #GorakhpurByPollResult — ANI (@ANI) March 14, 2018 × When early trends had indicated BJP candidates were leading, Samajwadi Party candidate from Gorakhpur Praveen Kumar Nishad levelled allegations of EVM tampering. "I am confident of my victory and that is what people are saying that SP's grand alliance will win this seat but there is a doubt in everyone's mind regarding EVM machines. The government can do anything using state administration," Nishad said. Perhaps those doubts were dispelled in later rounds when results were more favourable. So why are two bypolls in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha such a big deal? After all, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government in the Centre has such a big majority that a couple of seats would not result in a big shift in fortunes for the government. For one, the Opposition takes any win as a sign that the BJP's poll juggernaut can be stopped. They have had little cause to celebrate after 2014. The BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah have notched up victory after victory - the only exceptions to the case being Delhi and Punjab - and now over 70% of India lives in BJP or BJP-ally-ruled states. The other reason for such a keen interest in these polls is that both seats in Uttar Pradesh are prestige battles. The current Uttar Pardesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath represented Gorakhpur for five consecutive terms. He vacated the seat in 2017 after the BJP and its allies swept into power in Uttar Pradesh, winning 325 of the 403 assembly seats in the state. The Phulpur seat, once represented by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, had been vacated by Keshav Prasad Maurya, who was state BJP chief and is currently the Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Losing these seats would no doubt result in a loss of face for the party. In 2014, the BJP's victory margin in Gorakhpur was over 300,000 with Yogi Adityanath winning over half the votes polled. In Phulpur the margins were better for Keshav Prasad Maurya who polled 52% of the votes. All Opposition parties would be keenly watching the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party experiment where they pooled their resources to combine against the BJP. This win may be the harbinger for a larger national alliance in 2019. The SP-BSP are not only combining their resources for bypolls but will also support one another in the Rajya Sabha polls later this month. BSP supreme Mayawati, who hasn't fielded a candidate in these polls, insists that there is no 'alliance' yet and it is just an 'agreement' - mere semantics say observers. The Bihar elections, being seen as a referendum on chief minister Nitish Kumar, is also going the BJP's way. The BJP last year partnered with Kumar to form the government after the chief minister broke off ties with Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal. The Araria by-election was necessitated after the death of RJD's Mohammed Taslimuddin. His son, Sarfarz Alam, is the party's candidate in these elections and widely expected top retain the seat.

In Uttar Pradesh, Bihar bypolls, is there a message for BJP?