UP, Bihar bypolls: As BJP turns into Goliath, David has a better chance

The BJP would do well to remember that there are no permanent allies, only permanent interests

Newspapers on Thursday morning reported some seismic activity having occurred in the Hindi heartland. While the shockwaves still reverberate, experts suggest that the repercussions are likely to be felt in the near future. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trounced in Uttar Pradesh’ Phulpur and Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seats it held earlier, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) retained Araria in Bihar, despite BJP and ally Janata Dal (United) contesting the bypolls together.

In 2014, UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya had won Phulpur with a margin of more than 300,000 votes, while CM Yogi Adityanath had won Gorakhpur with