NEW DELHI: As the counting of votes for elections to District Development Council (DDC) of Jammu and Kashmir takes place on Tuesday, the results would be a significant milestone for the BJP, which has witnessed a dream run of sorts so far in the recent months.
If the BJP’s performance is decent, the party can claim success in the recent elections. On the contrary, if the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration performs better than the BJP, the latter’s juggernaut would come to a screeching halt.
In Bihar assembly elections, the BJP’s seat saw a significant rise. It became the second largest party after Lalu Prasad-led RJD. While RJD won 75 of the 243 assembly seats, the BJP was just one seat short of it at 74. Along with its NDA partner, the BJP formed government once again in the state.
In Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) election too, the BJP significantly improved its performance by coming second to the ruling TRS. It left Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM behind.
Earlier, it had won the Dubakka assembly by-election wresting the seat from TRS.
The BJP also retained its seats in the Uttar Pradesh assembly by-elections. Further, it pipped the Congress in the Madhya Pradesh state bypolls.
In Rajasthan civic elections too, the BJP won more number of seats than the ruling Congress.
The latest feather in the BJP’s cap was the Kerala local bodies’ elections. Here too, the party made unprecedented inroads into state politics. It not just improved its tally of 1200 seats in the previous 2015 elections to 1600 this time but it also made inroads into the strongholds of senior Congress leaders such as former defence minister AK Antony, former chief minister Oommen Chandy, leader of opposition in the Kerala assembly Ramesh Chennithala and Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor.
It emerged victorious also in Sabarimala which falls in Pandalam. Sabarimala was the epicentre of the protests organised by the party along with other Hindu groups against the entry of women of menstruating age inside the temple.
The results of the DDC elections in Jammu and Kashmir are significant for the BJP also because they are the first polls after the nullification of Article 370. In a way, it would be a referendum on the BJP-led NDA government’s step.