Win For Congress, Lead For Trinamool As INDIA Allies Take On Each Other

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".

A week after the INDIA alliance said it will contest next year's Lok Sabha election "together", the "as far as possible" addendum has become evident in bypolls to Assembly seats in Kerala, Uttarakhand and Bengal. In each state INDIA members are competing against, or have 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 win the Puthuppally seat.

In Bengal's Dhupguri, the CPM and Congress have turned allies to fight the Trinamool and the BJP.