New Delhi, Mar 2 (IANS): The poll results announced on Thursday have a clear political message for the Congress -- alliances are working for it but in a lone battle against the BJP the party is at the receiving end.

In the Erode bypoll supported by the DMK, in Sagardighi supported by the Left and in Maharashtra the MVA alliance of which the Congress is a part snatched the seat from the BJP. In West Bengal the Congress won the bypoll to the Sagardighi Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district, considered a stronghold of the ruling Trinamool Congress. The Congress' Bayron Biswas defeated Debasish Bandopadhyay of the Trinamool by a margin of 22,980 votes. Dilip Saha of the BJP finished third.

The Congress's victory in the bypoll is significant on multiple counts. Just 22 months back in 2021 in the West Bengal Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress's Subrata Saha was elected by a huge margin of 50,216 votes, defeating the BJP's Mafuja Khatun.

But the same was not applicable in the Assembly election it fought in alliance with the Left in Tripura where the alliance will be second to the BJP. Here the opposition votes were divided with the Tripura Motha party bagging 13 seats.

In Nagaland the NDPP and the BJP have gained a clear majority and the Congress which fought the BJP alliance has been decimated. In Meghalaya too, the TMC and the Congress cut each other's votes and after the NPP the BJP is the second largest party.

The Congress has apparently understood the importance of alliances so in its Raipur declaration it has mentioned calling the like minded parties to tie up with it.

Giving a big message on alliances, the declaration had said, "We are prepared to work with like-minded political parties on the basis of a common, constructive programme to preserve and protect the Constitution in letter and spirit and to address the three main challenges facing the country: growing economic inequality, intensifying social polarisation and deepening political dictatorship."

This was also reflected in Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's speech on Saturday where he said the party was open to alliances.