UP bypolls: In colossal setback, BJP suffers bitter drubbing in Hindi heartland
ET Online and Agencies|
Updated: Mar 14, 2018, 09.02 PM IST
The BJP has lost the crucial Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha bypolls in Uttar Pradesh to the Samajwadi Party and the Araria seat in Bihar to Lalu Yadav's RJD, in a shocking setback ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Akhilesh Yadav's SP, supported by Mayawati's BSP, conquered Gorakhpur which was earlier held by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Phulpur earlier held by Deputy CM KP Maurya, prompting the BJP to admit it badly underestimated the opposition's electoral understanding.
In Gorakhpur, Praveen Nishad of the SP defeated BJP's Upendra Dutt Shukla by 21,881 votes while Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel(SP) won Phulpur with a margin of over 59,000 votes, defeating his nearest rival Kaushlendra Singh Patel of the BJP. The byelections were announced after Adityanath and Maurya joined the UP Assembly.
"This is a rejection of both (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and Yogi (Adityanath)," Samajwadi Party spokesman Anurag Bhaudauria told IANS. "They have been making tall promises but not delivering on the ground."
The Samajwadi Party acknowledged the support extended by the BSP in the two by-elections. "BSP workers have backed us, they worked hard. They have contributed well. We express our thanks to the leaders and workers of BSP," SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said.
The bypoll rout was against the run of play for the BJP, which only a few days ago notched up surprise wins in three northeastern states, including Tripura, where it demolished the Left citadel of 25 years and formed its first government. It also managed to cobble together an alliance in Meghalaya and Nagaland.
The BJP, reacting to the poll setback, said that it will revisit its strategy ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election."We had not seen the Samajwadi Party and BSP coming together but since we have come to know of this now...and though there is still a long time (ahead of the polls)...we will redraw our strategy keeping this factor in mind," Sidharth Nath Singh, who is a cabinet minister in the UP government, told PTI.
In the Bihar by-election, Lalu Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won the Araria parliamentary by-poll and the Jehanabad assembly segment, while the BJP retained the Bhabua Assembly seat.
The BJP losses in Gorakhpur and Phulpur were more about loss of prestige and perception than about numbers. Both seats went to bypolls on Sunday and witnessed low voter turnouts, with Gorakhpur registering 47.45% voting and Phulpur witnessing 37.39% voting.
The win for the SP-BSP alliance has raised hopes of a grand alliance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. with a number of Opposition leaders including RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and veteran socialist leader Sharad Yadav calling for a joint fight against the BJP.
Akhilesh Yadav's SP, supported by Mayawati's BSP, conquered Gorakhpur which was earlier held by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Phulpur earlier held by Deputy CM KP Maurya, prompting the BJP to admit it badly underestimated the opposition's electoral understanding.
In Gorakhpur, Praveen Nishad of the SP defeated BJP's Upendra Dutt Shukla by 21,881 votes while Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel(SP) won Phulpur with a margin of over 59,000 votes, defeating his nearest rival Kaushlendra Singh Patel of the BJP. The byelections were announced after Adityanath and Maurya joined the UP Assembly.
"This is a rejection of both (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and Yogi (Adityanath)," Samajwadi Party spokesman Anurag Bhaudauria told IANS. "They have been making tall promises but not delivering on the ground."
The Samajwadi Party acknowledged the support extended by the BSP in the two by-elections. "BSP workers have backed us, they worked hard. They have contributed well. We express our thanks to the leaders and workers of BSP," SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said.
The bypoll rout was against the run of play for the BJP, which only a few days ago notched up surprise wins in three northeastern states, including Tripura, where it demolished the Left citadel of 25 years and formed its first government. It also managed to cobble together an alliance in Meghalaya and Nagaland.
The BJP, reacting to the poll setback, said that it will revisit its strategy ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election."We had not seen the Samajwadi Party and BSP coming together but since we have come to know of this now...and though there is still a long time (ahead of the polls)...we will redraw our strategy keeping this factor in mind," Sidharth Nath Singh, who is a cabinet minister in the UP government, told PTI.
In the Bihar by-election, Lalu Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won the Araria parliamentary by-poll and the Jehanabad assembly segment, while the BJP retained the Bhabua Assembly seat.
The BJP losses in Gorakhpur and Phulpur were more about loss of prestige and perception than about numbers. Both seats went to bypolls on Sunday and witnessed low voter turnouts, with Gorakhpur registering 47.45% voting and Phulpur witnessing 37.39% voting.
The win for the SP-BSP alliance has raised hopes of a grand alliance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. with a number of Opposition leaders including RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and veteran socialist leader Sharad Yadav calling for a joint fight against the BJP.