Oppn must introspect post BJP's splendid show in UP, U'khand: NCP

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registering an emphatic win in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand besides managing to form the government in Goa and Manipur, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Majid Memon on Friday said it is high time the opposition parties rethink their position to halt the saffron party's progress.

Memon said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as a much stronger leader following the verdict of the recent assembly polls because he got a massive mandate yet again which is almost a repeat of 2014.

"The whole country and the opposition particular believed that Modi has lost his charisma.But the results have shown

that the time has come for the entire opposition to reconsider its position. With the passage of time, we have seen that the Congress has been decimated," Memon told ANI.

Meanwhile, Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan showered praise on Prime Minister Modi and said even if all parties join hands they would not be able to compete with a strong leadership.

"Ek kahawat hai ki sau langde mil kar bhi ek pehlwan nahi ban sakta," he said.

After the poll debacle in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, there are growing demands within the Congress for a "fundamental restructuring" of the organisation to empower its "sharpest campaigners"

Former Congress MP Priya Dutt has said that a strong decision must be taken for rebuilding the party and reorganizing the structure.

She, however, told ANI yesterday that her remark was not aimed at insulting the party.

"When I spoke about auto immune disease, it is a disease which kills your own body cells. So, that is something that I have seen happening in the Congress for a very long time. Internally we fight so much that we lose focus in the larger picture of the party. Many people in the party work for themselves and not for the party, we need to recognize that," she said.

"And I am speaking that very openly today because I have gone through that for last 10 years. I have seen it in every election. I think a very strong decision and stand must be taken for rebuilding this party and reorganizing the structure," she added.

The BJP returned to power in Uttar Pradesh with a three-quarter majority after 14 years, during which regional players including the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party held sway.

The BJP-plus won 325 seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly while the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance got 54 seats.

Mayawati's BSP emerged victorious in just 18 seats.

In Uttarakhand, the BJP won 57 of the 70 seats at stake.