Political fortunes fluctuate and electoral waves by nature are fleeting, the Bharatiya Janata Party was reminded on Tuesday as the results of the by-elections in various States came out.
The party met with setbacks in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan just four months after sweeping these States in the Lok Sabha elections riding the “Modi wave.”
The BJP’s ally Apna Dal lost the Rohania Assembly seat to the Samajwadi Party in the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party lost three Assembly seats to the Congress in Gujarat, making the blow a personal one for Mr. Modi.
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The gain of a seat in West Bengal was a solace. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP lost seven of the 10 seats it won in the previous Assembly elections, all to the Samajwadi Party, marking a change since May when the party-led National Democratic Alliance won 73 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the State.
“Communal forces have been defeated,” said Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav alluding to the BJP’s high-pitched campaign on “love jihad.”
“It is a rejection of the BJP’s hate politics,” Congress spokesperson Shakil Ahmad said.
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Of the 54 Assembly seats to which by-elections were held in various States, the BJP won 20, down from 36 it held earlier. “The BJP has paid for insensitivity towards local issues,” said Sachin Pilot, Congress president in Rajasthan.
(With additional reporting by Priyanka Kakodkar in Mumbai)
List of winners (Assembly by-polls)
| State | Constituencies | Winner | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow (East) | Ashutosh Tondon | BJP |
| Charkhari | Kaptan Singh | SP | |
| Sirathu | Vachaspati | SP | |
| Balha | Banshidhar Bauddh | SP | |
| Rohaniya | Mahendra Singh Patel | SP | |
| Nighasan | Krishana Gopal Patel | SP | |
| Saharanpur Nagar | Rajeev Gumber | BJP | |
| Bijnore | Ruchiveera | SP | |
| Thakurwara | Navab Jan | SP | |
| Noida | Vimla Batham | BJP | |
| Hamirpur | Shivcharan Prajapati | SP | |
| West Bengal | Basirhat Dakshin | Samik Bhattacharya | BJP |
| Chowringhee | Nayna Bandyopadhyay | TMC | |
| Andhra Pradesh | Nandigama | Tangirala Sowmya | TDP |
| Rajasthan | Nasirabad | Ramnarayan | Congress |
| Weir | Bhajanlal | Congress | |
| Surajgarh | Sharwan Kumar | Congress | |
| Kota (South) | Sandeep Sharma | BJP | |
| Assam | Silchar | Dilip Kumar Paul | BJP |
| Lakhipur | Rajdeep Goala | Congress | |
| Jamunamukh | Abdur Rahim Ajmal | AIUDF | |
| Tripura | Manu | Pravat Chowdhury | CPI(M) |
| Sikkim | Rangang-Yangang | Rup Narayan Chamling | IND |
| Gujarat | Deesa | Rabari Govabhai | Congress |
| Maninagar | Patel Sureshbhai Dhanjibhai | BJP | |
| Tankara | Metaliya Bavanjibhai Hansrajbhai | BJP | |
| Khambhalia | Ahir Meraman | Congress | |
| Mangrol | Vaja Babubhai | Congress | |
| Talaja | Gohil Shivabhai Jerambhai | BJP | |
| Anand | Patel Rohitbhai Jashubhai | BJP | |
| Matar | Kesrisinh Jesangbhai Solanki | BJP | |
| Limkheda | Bhuriya Vichhiyabhai Jokhnabhai | BJP |
List of winners (Lok Sabha by-polls)
| State | Constituency | Winner | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh | Mainpuri | Tej Pratap Singh Yadav | SP |
| Telangana | Medak | Kotha Prabhakar Reddy | TRS |
| Gujarat | Vadodara | Ranjanaben Dhananjay Bhatt | BJP |