A week after the INDIA alliance said it plans to contest next year's Lok Sabha election "together", the "as far as possible" addendum became evident in bypolls to Assembly seats in Kerala, Uttarakhand and Bengal. In each state INDIA members have competed against, or defeated, each other.
In the southern state, the Congress fought off the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Aam Aadmi Party, in addition to the Bharatiya Janata Party, to retain the Puthuppally seat.
In Bengal's Dhupguri, the CPM and Congress did fight together - but against another INDIA ally, the Trinamool of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee - and the BJP. The Trinamool has emerged victorious.
Over in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar the Congress and the Samajwadi Party - allies for the bypoll in Uttar Pradesh's Ghosi - narrowly lost out in a three-way contest that was won, of course, the BJP.
READ | Key Poll In Uttar Pradesh First Big Test For INDIA Bloc
The good news for supporters of INDIA is that in the four other seats the alliance did present a united front. The BJP, though, seemed untroubled, cantering to wins in Tripura's Boxanagar and Dhanpur/
READ | INDIA Alliance Passes Big Test, Wins Bypolls In 4 Out Of 7 Assembly Seats
In Ghosi - pitched as the first big electoral test for INDIA - the Samajwadi Party's Sudhakar Singh recorded a comfortable win, and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (another INDIA member) won Dumri.
READ | Samajwadi Party Retains Key UP Seat Where Its MLA Had Defected To BJP
The Dhupguri, Puthuppally, Bageshwar, Dumri and Boxanagar bypolls were necessitated by the deaths of sitting MLAs, while resignations forced fresh elections in Ghosi and Dhanpur.
These are the first elections of any kind since the INDIA bloc met in Mumbai and said they intend to contest all future elections "together as far as possible".
READ | "Will Contest Together As Far As Possible": INDIA Bloc Amid Differences
The wording raised eyebrows and spawned questions, specifically of the kind the bloc's formation was to eliminate, including the million-dollar one - just how united is the group as its bids to defeat the BJP?
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