New Delhi: Of the three constituencies that went to bypolls, all of them in BJP-ruled states, the saffron party won one and lost two.
In a major blow, BJP surrendered the high-profile Bankipur seat in Bihar where party president Nitin Nabin’s family had been winning since 1995.
None other than Prashant Kishor delivered the biggest coup, emerging victorious over his nearest BJP rival by 19,324 votes. Kishor not only won on his electoral debut, he also handed the Jan Suraaj Party its maiden triumph after drawing a blank in the state Assembly polls last November.
In Madhya Pradesh, BJP failed to wrest the Datia Assembly seat from Congress, as Ashutosh Tiwari lost to Ghanshyam Singh by around 6,000 votes.
BJP, however, comfortably retained the Manjalpur Assembly seat in Gujarat as Satendrabhai Patel defeated Congress’ Bhikhabhai Rabari by over 30,000 votes.
Is there a message for the saffron party, especially as these results come just days after the Centre faced pressure from the Cockroach Janta Party-led students and Gen-Z protesters, leading to the replacement of Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav was quick to link BJP’s defeats to public anger over NEET paper leaks, unemployment, inflation and corruption.
‘Beginning of change’
The former UP chief minister saw it as the “beginning of change”, as the results followed the display of “unity of the youth and the outrage of their guardians”.
He pointed to the Bankipur result, saying that “even the BJP’s safest and most traditional seats won’t be able to save them from defeat now.
Former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal also took the opportunity to land a jab on BJP.
Congratulating Prashant Kishor on his debut win, Kejriwal said, “The BJP has lost even the seat of its national president.”
He claimed BJP’s “ground has completely shifted” as the result reflected issues such as “fund theft, paper leaks, E20” and growing public dissatisfaction with the Narendra Modi government.
“The arrogance is breaking down. The people of the country have given a signal of change,” Kejriwal added.
In Bankipur, BJP’s vote share has dropped by about one-third.
There will have to be a serious and detailed introspection. However, BJP’s preliminary assessment suggests that the RJD transferred its votes to Kishor. Tejashwi Yadav, BJP said, had campaigned for only one hour.
Some BJP leaders have even alleged collusion between the RJD and Kishor.
