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Luknow:
For Mayawati, the real good news may have been this. That for the first time ever, her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has won on Mulayam's home turf of Etawah.
The BSP's sweep on Tuesday was widespread. Of the 11 seats that were up for grabs, it has won nine. The Congress has got one.
Here's the detailed political report card. Mayawati not only held one seat, but won an additional eight. Mulayam's Samajwadi Party lost all its five seats to the BSP. The Congress lost two seats, but wrested one from the BJP. And the BJP, defending two seats, drew a blank.
Tuesday's results make Mayawati even stronger in Uttar Pradesh, giving her 214 members in the 403-seat Assembly. Experts say that could be why voters stuck with her in these by-elections.
"We don't mourn when we lose, nor do we celebrate when we win" says a key BSP minister, explaining why there are no celebrations outside the ruling party's office.
More likely, the BSP is cautious about this latest victory because it suffered a huge defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. So it may rightly be refusing to see the by-elections as a sign of things to come in the next Assembly elections in 2012.
That's also possibly why the Congress isn't too upset about not delivering like it did during the Lok Sabha elections, when it won 21 seats. "The contest is between BSP and Congress. We will contest the coming assembly elections alone in Uttar Pradesh," says party leader Digvijay Singh.
The man whose credited with reviving the Congress in the state, Rahul Gandhi, is busy wooing the party's old vote banks- Muslims and Dalits.
Mayawati is reworking her Dalit-Brahmin strategy, which didn't work during the general elections.
The BJP has to start from scratch, rebuilding the party. That can't happen till it overcomes it current leadership crisis.
But it's Mulayam Singh, who personally perhaps has the most ground to cover. His family on Tuesday has lost the two seats it held.
The BSP's sweep on Tuesday was widespread. Of the 11 seats that were up for grabs, it has won nine. The Congress has got one.
Here's the detailed political report card. Mayawati not only held one seat, but won an additional eight. Mulayam's Samajwadi Party lost all its five seats to the BSP. The Congress lost two seats, but wrested one from the BJP. And the BJP, defending two seats, drew a blank.
Tuesday's results make Mayawati even stronger in Uttar Pradesh, giving her 214 members in the 403-seat Assembly. Experts say that could be why voters stuck with her in these by-elections.
"We don't mourn when we lose, nor do we celebrate when we win" says a key BSP minister, explaining why there are no celebrations outside the ruling party's office.
More likely, the BSP is cautious about this latest victory because it suffered a huge defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. So it may rightly be refusing to see the by-elections as a sign of things to come in the next Assembly elections in 2012.
That's also possibly why the Congress isn't too upset about not delivering like it did during the Lok Sabha elections, when it won 21 seats. "The contest is between BSP and Congress. We will contest the coming assembly elections alone in Uttar Pradesh," says party leader Digvijay Singh.
The man whose credited with reviving the Congress in the state, Rahul Gandhi, is busy wooing the party's old vote banks- Muslims and Dalits.
Mayawati is reworking her Dalit-Brahmin strategy, which didn't work during the general elections.
The BJP has to start from scratch, rebuilding the party. That can't happen till it overcomes it current leadership crisis.
But it's Mulayam Singh, who personally perhaps has the most ground to cover. His family on Tuesday has lost the two seats it held.
