‘Beginning of the End Has Started,’ Says Mamata as UP, Bihar By-Election Results Pour in

New Delhi: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted congratulatory messages to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav for their showing in the bypolls in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The SP has taken a big lead in Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats and the RJD has won from Bhabua and is looking to set to retain Araria assembly seat as well. In a series of tweets, Mamata Banerjee said Wednesday’s results were the “beginning of the end” for the BJP.

“Great victory. Congratulations to Mayawati Ji and Akhilesh Yadav for UP Bypolls. The beginning of the end has started,” the West Bengal Chief Minister said.

In her second tweet, Banerjee tweeted to RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, saying, “Congratulations to Lalu Prasad Ji for winning Araria and Jehanabad. This is a great victory.”

The two-time Bihar chief minister responded to Banerjee with a tweet of his own, saying, “Thank you Didi...Together We are fighting, we shall fight and we will win.”

This comes at a time when the clamour for a non-BJP, non-Congress ‘Third Front’ is growing in political circles. Amid a flurry of activity in the opposition camp to appropriate leadership of the non-BJP front ahead of the next general elections, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar has called a meeting of opposition parties in Delhi on 27 and 28 of March. Party leader and trusted Pawar aide, Praful Patel, travelled to Kolkata to invite Mamata Banerjee for the meeting. The West Bengal chief minister has confirmed her participation in the event.

Apart from Pawar, other regional leaders to float the idea of anti-BJP front include Telangana Chief Minister K Chadrashekhar Rao.

On March 3, KCR said, “There is a serious need to bring change in national politics. Seventy years have passed since Independence and out of those 70 years, 64 years were ruled by either BJP or Congress. Even after 70 years, people are suffering and they don’t even have water to drink.”

“It can be a third front or anything. What is required at the time is change and it will emerge at the appropriate time. Change has to happen. It is unification of the people of India and not just some political parties. And this will surely be minus BJP and Congress, no doubt about that,” the CM said.​