BJP's Assembly election losses: Six consequences and lessons for Modi, Shah

While BJP's defeats in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh were a forgone conclusion, Gujarat and Karnataka poll debacles should have brought some course correction

That the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would lose in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh was a forgone conclusion because it had been in power there for 15 years. Anti-incumbency was bound to take its toll.

That it would lose in Rajasthan was also a forgone conclusion because of the poor management skills displayed by the chief minister, Vasundhara Raje, and the infighting in the ranks of the BJP which the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) head, Mohan Bhagwat, had tried his best to quell. Indeed, but for his efforts, the margin of defeat might have been even larger.

One consequence of these