NDA outwits...

But it succeeded in keeping its entire NDA flock together, and winning over three key players --Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and the Telangana Rashtriya Samithi through careful preparation and investing political capital from the very top.

“Our party president had predicted 125 votes and we got exactly that. The numbers are a political and moral victory for us. It exposes the myth of the opposition unity. And it also shows at that a time when critics say BJP is getting isolated, we are able to expand our alliances and partnerships,” said a senior minister, who did not wish to be identified. “Ham haarne ki baazi nahin khelte.” (We don’t play to lose)

The opposition candidate, Hariprasad, was a last-minute pick after the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) decided not to put up a candidate on Tuesday. The NCP’S decision, in turn, was motivated by Sharad Pawar’s call to Patnaik, who made it clear to the former that the BJD would support the NDA candidate.

“Not putting up a candidate was not an option for us. The ruling side often seeks to create a consensus for such positions. But the NDA showed no such inclination and wanted to impose a choice on us. We had to challenge the BJP,” said a Congress leader who did not wish to be identified.

But having a Congress candidate meant that the party’s rivals -- like the Aam Aadmi Party -would stay away. It also meant the enthusiasm levels of key regional actors like the Trinamool Congress might have dipped. For instance, two Trinamool MPS and three Samajwadi Party MPS were absent. The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) also abstained from the vote.

Across the opposition ranks in Parliament on Thursday however, there were two key refrains -- how the BJD’S support to the NDA was a game-changer and how the opposition did not take the contest seriously enough. The Congress, however, sought to see a silver lining in the race and suggested that YSRCP and BJD’S visible softening towards the BJP would open up the opposition space for them in Odisha and Telangana respectively.

Observers pointed out that the outcome holds lessons for 2019.

Neelanjan Sircar, senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, said there were three broad takeaways from the election. “First, it shows that a grand pre-poll coalition bringing all parties together is not on the cards. There are intense contra-