Yogi Adityanath, who was the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaign for the by-polls in Uttar Pradesh, blamed the poor showing of the party on being unable to campaign unchallenged.
Speaking to the media, Adityanath said, "The result of an election depends on a lot of things. One of those factors is the way the seats had been allocated. Another key factor is the way your campaign takes place. The state government can have a lot of influence on bypolls and as was evident, I had not been allowed to campaign in certain constituencies. The areas that I was allowed to campaign unhindered, the BJP won."
Further, Adityanath also wanted action taken against his being unable to campaign. He said, "I am quite surprised that the Election Commission has not looked at these instances more seriously. The commission took no action on the things that went wrong."
Adityanath also said that the poor result was another starting point for the party in the state. He said, "I think any win or loss gives inspiration. We should not close the doors of future. We will take stock and come back stronger next time."
The counting for the by-poll results in 33 constituencies across 10 states took place today, with the BJP bagging only two out of 11 seats in UP.