BJP election flags flutter above a slum district in Delhi

The largely unexpected victory of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in three of the four state elections held in India this week has provoked much debate in the country's press.

Varying theories have been put forward for the results, ranging from an anti-incumbency mood, Congress Party complacency through to cunning campaigning.

The victory in states previously held by the opposition Congress Party has also led to speculation over the position of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.

"The results in these four states will have a profound impact on the country's politics... The direction of India's political future hinges on these election results," the Punjabi Tribune says.

"While the assembly election results have infused a new spirit among the BJP members, they have also, simultaneously, caused the Congress Party to pause and ponder... The stir the results have generated in Indian politics shows signs of its eventual climax in the next general elections," the paper concludes.

This election is a test of the government's success in meeting the daily requirements of the people. Navbharat Times

New Delhi's Qaumi Awaz says that the results demonstrate the danger of parties becoming disconnected from their grass roots support.

"The reason for the Congress Party's defeat is not that its governments did nothing. The reason is that it took the voters for granted, as it was confident about its achievements. Congress Party leaders, big or small, should make amends... Voters are not anyone's bonded labour," the paper says.

Rashtriya Sahara puts the blame for Congress complacency on poll watching.

"Proving all pre-election surveys wrong, these results have not only shown that the people are not going to bear those who overlook their interests, but have also indicated that to be complacent on the basis of polls is to be fooled by illusions."

The Navbharat Times notes that the relatively successful record of the Congress Party governments was not enough to bring them victory.

"This election, in fact, is a test of the government's success in meeting the daily requirements of the people. It also shows that the expectations of the people have gone up considerably," the paper concludes.

Fatal blow

In an editorial entitled "A brutal blow to Congress ambitions", The Hindu newspaper says that the results are an indictment of the party's leadership.

"Overall, the election results, which must be read as a powerful verdict against Congress policies under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, have dealt a brutal - possibly a fatal - blow to the ambitions of the Congress to form the next government at the centre."

"At a national level, the prospect of an unequal Atal Behari Vajpayee vs Sonia Gandhi billing for the coming big contest is likely to spread nervousness and despondency among Congress supporters," the paper comments.

The paper also notes that, after initially flirting with a Hindu nationalist campaign, the BJP switched tactics, "in favour of highlighting - very successfully - the failures of governance in terms of providing basic facilities such as electricity, roads, and water".

The Congress Party's estrangement from the voter is being enacted India Express

The India Express charts the decline of Congress as the natural party of government.

"For the Congress this is a sobering moment. After elections fought in the middle ground - on issues of development, representation and governance that were once the forte of the Grand Old Party - it appears to have been left stranded," the paper says.

"The party that majestically announced a programme to reclaim its rightful place in India's polity just five months ago appears bereft of roadmap or wherewithal to return to a semblance of its old status as a natural party of governance," it adds.

"Once, in the Congress Party's internal conversations the narrative of India was played out. Now, in the silence at its headquarters at 24 Akbar Road, the party's estrangement from the voter is being enacted," the paper concludes.

The Times of India shares the view that the leadership has lost touch, but gloomily notes the absence of a viable alternative.

"The Congress's dilemma is that without Sonia Gandhi, there is not just no recognisable leader but that there is no recognisable party either," the paper notes.

"With the Congress in virtual disarray after these polls, the BJP will be in an enviable position to attract regional and splinter groups, not to mention runaway Congresswallahs."

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.