BJP faces an uphill task in 2019; populist measures likely: Analysts

Analysts at Edelweiss Securities believe BJP may find the going tough in 2019 elections given the recent state poll outcome.

Even though the outcome of state polls cannot be entirely extrapolated to what may happen in the general elections scheduled for 2019 as the former are fought more on local issues, most brokerages say that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) now faces an uphill task in rejuvenating the electorate in their favour. Managing caste equations, pre-poll alliances, they feel, will be quite critical going into 2019.

"While the losses for BJP will rob it of some momentum, it is perilous to extrapolate state election results to central government elections. At the central level, Prime Minister Modi maintains overwhelming popularity over