INDIA bloc's regional allies outdo Congress in putting check on BJP

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

INDIA bloc leaders' euphoria over their impressive poll show gives way to the serious business of closed-door analysis of elections results, there is a feeling among many of them that entrenched regional allies played a more effective role and delivered better than Congress in denying BJP a majority on its own.

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In comparison, Congress, which contested the largest number of seats among INDIA allies, continued to fare poorly against BJP in the Hindi belt and in their direct duals, barring a few exceptions, some opposition leaders said. Congress gained many of its seats by defeating the Left, some regional parties and by piggybacking on high-performing allies, they said.

The most critical factor in slowing down the BJP juggernaut was the stellar performance of INDIA bloc allies such as Akhilesh Yadav-led SP, Mamata Banerjee-led AITMC, Uddhav Thackeray-led SS (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SCP) in delivering numbers for the alliance in the three largest and political key states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra where BJP was critically dependent for a bigger show.

Equally significant was the role MK Stalin-led DMK (22) — with Congress (9) and some others in alliance — did in neutralising BJP's push in Tamil Nadu despite the double incumbency of the state government and party MPs, opposition circles said.

Lok