The BJP has lost comprehensively the Delhi Assembly election despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising shrill pitch over anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Shaheen Bagh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah holding almost 50 public meetings and rallies, and party president JP Nadda being relentless in campaign.

Still, the Delhi election results augur well for PM Modi and the BJP in their next big target, which the party leaders have already been talking about - Lok Sabha election 2024. The reason is decimation of the Congress.

Not only did the Congress register a double-duck failing to win a single seat in Delhi election, it saw its vote share reducing below half of 2015 assembly polls - from 9.7 per cent to 4.26 per cent. And, this is exactly the good news for the BJP and PM Modi.

On pan-India level, the BJP fears none but the Congress. It is the Congress that can be an umbrella outfit for the Opposition forces. Mamata Banerjee or Sharad Pawar may be a stalwart in their own right but neither the Trinamool Congress nor the Nationalist Congress Party can provide leadership at the national level to pose a serious challenge to the BJP.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is into his third term and his presence in the national capital makes his a voice heard in media on every issue of significance. He can easily challenge PM Modi but only in newspaper headlines and TV studio debates. To be the leader of Opposition coalition, Kejriwal needs to expand the base of his Aam Aadmi Party in other states.

Bihar and West Bengal are two major elections over the next two years. Bihar goes to the polls later this year. But Kejriwal cannot think of a noticeable performance in the state where the BJP-JDU combine would look for yet another term.

Nitish Kumar's clean image is a big counter for Brand Kejriwal in Bihar, a state where the AAP has no significant cadre/volunteer base. Also, entering Bihar election would pit Kejriwal against Nitish Kumar, whom the Opposition camp has long aspired to up ante against PM Modi but he preferred to join the NDA ranks after testing the rival camp during 2013-17.

Kejriwal faces the same dilemma in West Bengal. If he tries to expand in Bengal, he risks turning Mamata Banerjee his rival in national politics. Mamata Banerjee has been extremely possessive of Bengal politics and she is facing an aggressive challenge from the BJP in her own backyard. Bengal is the next frontier for Modi-Shah in 2021.

Without substantial presence in other states, Kejriwal remains an unacceptable prime ministerial candidate for any federal front or third front that has been elusive since mid-1990s. Mamata Banerjee, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, N Chandrababu Naidu of Telugu Desam Party and Sharad Pawar are the other leaders who may emerge as a challenger to PM Modi in 2024. However, the same batch of leaders had failed to agree on a common candidate as their PM face in 2019.

This again leaves the Congress as the main challenger for the BJP and pits Rahul Gandhi against PM Modi in 2024. All regional satraps are more likely to agree on a 50-plus Rahul Gandhi as their prime ministerial candidate than picking one from among themselves.

But then the Congress, which snatched key states - Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand -- from the BJP in 2018-19, would be facing anti-incumbency there. These states have a total of 127 Lok Sabha seats. And, PM Modi has proved himself to be the biggest exploiter of anti-incumbency votes over the past six years.

The Congress's devastating loss in Delhi Assembly election - even if it is tactical - may rankle in its eyes four years down the line more than the infighting of party leaders following the loss. Game is set for the BJP and PM Modi for 2024.