Editorial: Lessons From The By-Polls Verdict

The results of the by-elections to 13 Assembly seats in seven states have come as a further shot in the arm to the INDIA grouping close on the heels of its vastly improved performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. By winning 10 of the 13 seats, the alliance has proved that its good performance in North India is not just a flash in the pan. It was more or less status quo for the BJP but the fact that it could not wrest any seats from the INDIA bloc is a matter of worry. In Himachal Pradesh, where the BJP engineered defections in the Congress, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu is now on a strong wicket having managed to secure victory in three of the four seats that went to by-polls. This is the state where the BJP secured 100 per cent victory in the Lok Sabha election. In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress continued its strong showing managing to oust the BJP from one seat and holding on to three others. Even in Bihar, the NDA ally Janata Dal (United) nominee was defeated by an Independent candidate. Of course, the results to a few odd seats in seven states are no indication of how Assembly polls will turn out in the crucial states of Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Haryana later this year. The INDIA bloc has no reason to be complacent and must go all out to wrest power in these states by coming up with tactical alliances and clever seat-sharing arrangements. For the BJP it is a period of introspection because reports indicate that internal dissensions and discontent among cadres are among the reasons for its sub-par performance in the Lok Sabha polls. There has to be effective brainstorming taking inputs from the grassroots level upwards to arrive at a cogent explanation for its losses in the Hindi heartland and Maharashtra. A few people at the top cannot take all the decisions as was proved in the general elections. Flawed ticket distribution, resentment at the district and booth level and the apathy of RSS cadre have all been attributed as reasons for the BJP falling short of the majority mark of 270 in the Lok Sabha by 32 seats. Some lessons in humility would do wonders for the ‘party with a difference’. Maybe if Nitin Gadkari’s words of wisdom at the Goa conclave of not repeating the mistakes committed by the Congress are taken seriously, the party can bounce back. The tendency to topple elected governments by any means and employ underhand means to sway Opposition members to the saffron side have not been taken kindly to by the electorate. Politicians would do well to heed the sentiments of the people. They are the only kings in democracy.