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BJP failed to hold on to the vote share it had in the Lok Sabha elections in several of these seats. The results of the by-polls, which took place on Thursday, are likely to provide a shot in the arm to a largely moribund Opposition.
The results, which come with the Narendra Modi-led government about to complete 100 days, might give the Opposition the confidence it could defeat the Modi factor by ensuring anti-BJP votes are not split.
In Karnataka, the Congress won two of the three seats, including BJP’s pocket borough of Bellary Rural. BJP’s only victory came in Shikaripura, where former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa’s son won. Yeddyurappa, who vacated the seat on being elected to the Lok Sabha, conceded the victory margin of 6,000 was “disappointing”.
In Madhya Pradesh, BJP won two of the three seats, while the Congress bagged the Bahoriband seat. In Punjab, the Congress’ Preneet Kaur retained for it the Patiala Urban seat but the Shiromani Akali Dal won Talwandi Sabo. The Aam Aadmi Party couldn’t repeat its good showing of the Lok Sabha polls.
However, results from Bihar could have long-term political ramification. The alliance of rivals-turned-friends, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar, along with the Congress, won six of the 10 seats that went to polls. Lalu’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and the Congress had a vote share better than that of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. RJD lost the Banka seat by a mere 711 votes to BJP.
BJP had won six of the 10 seats in the 2010 Assembly elections and had led in eight of these Assemblies in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP along with its allies, the Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party and the Rashtriya Loktantrik Samata Party, had won 31 of Bihar’s 40 Lok Sabha seats in May.
Opposition leaders expectedly saw in the results a sign of things to come. Lalu Prasad, admitted to a Mumbai hospital this morning, tweeted from his bed: “I thank the people of Bihar for making the alliance win. Voters across the country have rectified the mistakes made in the Lok Sabha elections.”
Leaders of the so-called ‘secular alliance’ in Bihar highlighted how it was fitting that ‘Mandal politics’ should have a rebirth on August 25, the birth anniversary of B P Mandal. It was the commission headed by Mandal that had recommended reservations in government jobs for backward classes.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said the results were good for the country. “The process of change has started. It is a good sign for the country and also for the Opposition parties,” Pawar told Business Standard, after paying a visit to Lalu at the Mumbai hospital. Kumar said the voters had expressed their “displeasure” with the Modi government. He suggested the alliance would be broadened to include the Left parties to check BJP’s “communal agenda”.
Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed called the results a positive signal for anti-BJP forces. The Congress is taking heart that these elections have punctured the so-called ‘Modi wave’ and the by-polls held indications for the upcoming Assembly polls in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana, and Jammu & Kashmir.
BJP leaders, both in Karnataka and Bihar, were quick to blame the losses on local factors and the failure of state party units. These leaders insisted the defeats were no reflection on Modi’s leadership. “We did not name him (Modi) much during the campaign here… so this is not about the Modi factor,” Yeddyurappa said. BJP leader from Bihar and national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain blamed the loss in the state on state leaders. “The result is not as we expected. The state BJP takes responsibility,” he said.
Party leaders said the Bihar results should not be compared to the Lok Sabha elections. Bihar BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said the party accepted the verdict. “We will review, make amends and make all efforts to win the final round,” he said. In Bihar, BJP won four seats, RJD three, JD (U) two and Congress one. Assembly elections in the state are a little over 12 months away.
In Karnataka, the Congress won its sitting Chikkodi-Sadalga seat comfortably. However, the shocker for BJP was the loss of the Bellary Rural seat. The seat was vacated by B S Sriramulu, the protégé of mining baron Janardhana Reddy and his brothers, after his election to the Lok Sabha. Sriramulu’s aide and BJP candidate Obalesh lost by a massive 33,000 votes to the Congress candidate N Y Gopalakrishna. BJP had won 17 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka while the ruling Congress won nine and the Janata Dal (Secular), which didn’t field its candidates in any of the three seats, bagged two seats.
In Punjab, the Congress retained the Patiala Assembly seat. Its candidate Preneet Kaur won comfortably. She had lost the Lok Sabha election from Patiala to an AAP candidate. The Assembly seat was vacated by her husband, former chief minister Amarinder Singh, after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Amritsar.
The Shiromani Akali Dal won Talwandi Sabo from the Congress. By-election was held on the seat after the Congress’ sitting MLA Mohinder Siddhu crossed over to SAD. He won this time on SAD ticket. Similarly, in Madhya Pradesh, BJP wrested Vijayraghavgarh from the Congress. It was won by the Congress’ Sanjay Pathak in 2013. He later joined BJP and was fielded in the by-elections.
