Bypoll ‘Bulldozer’ Carries ‘Warning Signs’ For BJP In 2019?

The results of the bypolls to three Lok Sabha seats and two assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar gave a big jolt to the Bharatiya Janata Party today ahead of the general elections next year.

The biggest surprise came from Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, where the Samajwadi Party won both Gorakhpur and Phulpur. Incidentally, elections were conducted in both these seats after Yogi Adityanath and Keshav Prasad Maurya took charge as chief minister and deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh respectively.

“Till this morning, nobody was ready to believe that the BJP will lose Gorakhpur,” said Shahid Siddique, editor of Nai Duniya and former member of the Samajwadi Party.

The contest in both these seats also saw bitter political enemies Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party come together to defeat the BJP. “The opposition is realizsng that they can now go for the kill,” Siddiqui added.

Also Read: Gorakhpur, Phulpur, Araria: Lessons Of 2009 For PM Modi And Rahul Gandhi

Senior Journalist Arati Jerath, however, struck a cautious note. “I think we shouldn't jump to hasty conclusions for 2019,” she said even as she pointed out that the BJP has now lost seven bypolls across states. That may be a “warning sign” for the party, she added.

The Samajwadi Party's dramatic victory in Gorakhpur reflects the “public mood”, according to Sanjay Pugalia, editorial director at Quintillion Media. U.P Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath won from the Gorakhpur seat five times.

Pugalia likened voters' mood to a “bulldozer” and warned against underestimating it.