... While the BJP's rout in Rajasthan and Delhi has come on expected lines, the Congress's ability to hold on to its ground in Madhya Pradesh has come as a surprise to leaders of the yet-to-be-formed "third front" ...

Politically, this is clearly a signal that the Congress would want to gain back its ground in the north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which it lost to the regional parties like the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. ..

While (these) parties ... would be more than happy to share power with the Congress in the event of an alternative regime, they are unlikely to stomach the Congress fast recovery, as in the long run, this could threaten their very existence as regional powers.

The Congress confidence of a fast recovery can be gauged from the fact that in the ... Assembly polls, it had flatly turned down the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha's request for barely a score of seats ... as a seat-sharing arrangement in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.

Consequently, the RLM fielded candidates in almost one-third of the total seats in the three States. The idea was to cut into the Congress vote bank so that the Congress did not emerge too strong in the three States. However, by and large, the RLM candidates have failed to make any impact in the three States ...                        (Source: The Pioneer, 29 November, 1998)