The recent bypolls held in seven states suggest that the opposition, which delivered a vastly improved performance in the general election, is still maintaining momentum. The Congress party, in particular, will see results in a favorable way. This should boost its confidence since three states – Haryana, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra – are set to hold assembly elections in a few months. The INDIA bloc won 10 of the 13 seats while the BJP was victorious in two constituencies; an independent won in Bihar. There are at least three takeaways from the results. Congress’s success in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where it failed to win a single Lok Sabha seat, also suggests that voters might vote differently in the assembly elections.
The BJP may have to reflect on its setbacks in Uttarakhand and Himachal, particularly in the former state where it is in its third consecutive term in government. The failure to win the Badrinath constituency should particularly rankle the BJP – a bypoll was forced because the incumbent Congress MLA defected to the BJP but failed to retain the seat. In Himachal, the Congress wrested two seats from independents who had joined the BJP, which led to the bypolls. With Haryana, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra slated to vote at the end of this year, the bypolls suggest that elections in these states will be fiercely contested. Even though the opposition Congress, now led by a resurgent leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, is gaining momentum, the BJP cannot be ruled out. Prime Minister Narendra Modi still remains the tallest leader in the country and has the charisma to single-handedly win elections for the saffron party. But one thing is for sure: bypoll results have given a new dimension to the upcoming state elections.