UP's Gathbandhan makes Narendra Modi and Gandhis look beyond May 23

Over the past three days, the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have betrayed their nervousness that a repeat of 1996 could be in the offing

The gathbandhan, the term in common parlance for the Uttar Pradesh alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), has left the big two of Indian politics rattled in the most populous state.

Over the past three days, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have betrayed their nervousness that a repeat of 1996 could be in the offing. The results of UP’s 80 seats could determine whether the BJP would make a comeback or struggle to get the requisite number of allies, as happened in 1996, and fails to prove