NEW DELHI: After losing its forts of Maharashtra and Haryana, Congress faces the challenge of twin states of Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand where it has a marginal presence but which paradoxically fell in its kitty for the last few years owing to UPA’s clout.

The two states, in the aftermath of Congress’s rout, pose an existential crisis for the party. Insiders concede there is a real fear of the party getting squeezed between entrenched regional outfits and a resurgent BJP.

The November elections are likely to have implications beyond the state boundaries to impact the national scene. With BJP trying to consolidate its recent gains, the polls could not have come at a worse time for Congress. A defeat would only add to its dwindling stock nationally.

But there is the big picture worrying Congress. The J-states may indicate the fate that awaits the party on turfs where it is third or fourth force – like West Bengal and Bihar.

Congress all along hoped that favourable conditions in future would help it revive in these states and put it in the power matrix. Its failure to achieve the target during UPA’s ascendancy has left the space open for a fourth party to rush in. In Jharkhand, BJP is a strong player anyway.

The harried party is now seeking to retain relevance with voters, else it could be marginalized beyond repair. That BJP managed to single-handedly do well in J&K and Jharkhand in Lok Sabha polls, eclipsing regional outfits National Conference and JMM, poses a real threat. It shows that Congress alliance with JMM in Jharkhand faces a tough test.

The outcome could give a peep into the danger that awaits Congress in states where it has been pushed well below the premier rung.

If it is Bengal and Bihar in the East, it is Uttar Pradesh in the North while observers don’t put Telangana out of the risk zone. Odisha, though with Congress as number two, is another red zone because of grand old party’s failure to challenge BJD.

After all, riding the crest of national polls, BJP has managed to create a new vote-bank to trump Congress and regional forces INLD and HJC by a distance in Haryana where it never looked like emerging a big player. Ditto Maharashtra.

For Congress, the comfort zones are states where it is locked in a bipolar polity with BJP like Himachal Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Uttarakhand.