How Bypoll Results In Bankipur-Datia Could Change Game Plan Of Congress-Led Oppn? Inside Story

Jagran Correspondent, New Delhi | The results of the Bankipur and Datia Assembly by-elections have given new hope for future electoral battles to the opposition, already shaken by the dominance of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

There is no doubt that these by-election results would provide a psychological catalyst to bring the opposition back on track, which has been badly hit by the recent major split of 26 Lok Sabha members from the Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT).

Byelections Results Give New Hope To Opposition Politics

Opposition parties, especially the Congress, could use these results as a means to unite anti-BJP forces against the saffron party, which is already facing challenges from the streets to Parliament over the Gen-G students' movement.

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The Congress, which had adopted an aggressive political stance on the police lathicharge against students, hinted at the opposition's intentions by linking the byelection results to the public's growing dissatisfaction with the BJP, especially among the Gen-G.

The significance of the Datia and Bankipur by-election results for the opposition camp can be gauged from the reactions of parties like the CPI-ML, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena UBT, and the Samajwadi Party.

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Apart from the CPI-ML, the other three parties have no direct involvement in the politics of not only Bankipur and Datia, but also Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. Yet, they see an indirect victory in the BJP's defeat. These results offer future hope for Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which is contesting the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in a few months. An alliance between the SP and the Congress is considered almost certain in the next Uttar Pradesh elections.

Congress' Impressive Victory In Datia, A BJP Stronghold

The results in Bankipur and Datia are also significant because Bihar and Madhya Pradesh are neighboring states of Uttar Pradesh. Eastern Uttar Pradesh shares political and cultural similarities with Bihar, while the Bundelkhand region shares political and cultural similarities with Madhya Pradesh.

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Clearly, Congress's impressive victory in Datia, considered a BJP stronghold, will give the party confidence in its future return to power in Madhya Pradesh. It will also give the Samajwadi Party confidence that its future alliance partner, Congress, retains the political capability to directly confront the BJP.

Congress's victory in Datia is also significant because, while the party's new leadership displayed a fighting spirit in the state, veterans like Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath remained largely out of the political scene.

Opposition Parties Eye On Prashant Kishor

For the opposition, the results in Bankipur and Datia also signal a need to intensify pressure on the government regarding the issues raised by the student protests. Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor may not yet be part of any framework of opposition politics, but non-BJP-NDA parties are seeing his victory in Bankipur as a glimpse of the emerging socio-political landscape in the future.

This seat in Patna's prime urban area has a significant number of upper-class voters, who have traditionally been staunch supporters of the BJP for the past three decades. However, with Kishor's victory, opposition parties will now see the possibility of gaining acceptance among the urban middle and upper classes at the national level.