Congress pass the triple test

Elections in three small states in India's remote and revolt-racked Northeast will provide another test for the ruling Congress party as it seeks to boost its shaky morale ahead of a national poll due next year.While the states are small and lack political weight nationally, elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland over the next few weeks will give Congress another sign of whether its popularity is falling across the country.Congress suffered defeats to the rival Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh last December."The results of these smaller states will matter for the Congress," said Mahesh Rangarajan, a political analyst and history professor at Delhi University."These elections are crucial for the Congress to boost its declining popularity, ahead of a series of coming elections in bigger states."