Regardless of recent losses, BJP confident of winning Maharashtra bypolls
What's the story
Undeterred by recent setbacks in byelections in some states, the BJP is confident of retaining the Bhandara-Gondia and Palghar Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra bypolls. However, the Congress feels the recent bypoll results were an indication of the "changing political scenario". The byelection in Bhandara-Gondia is due as its sitting BJP MP, Nana Patole, resigned from the seat in 2017 and joined the Congress.
The bypolls
Dates of these bypolls are yet to be announced
The bypoll in Palghar is necessitated due to the death of its sitting BJP MP Chintaman Wanga in January this year. Meanwhile, there is also a vacancy in the Palus-Kadegaon Assembly seat in Sangli district after the death of senior Congress leader Patangrao Kadam. However, the dates of these bypolls in the state are yet to be announced.
BJP's setback
BJP lost bypolls in several seats in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan
In a setback, BJP recently lost the bypolls to all three Lok Sabha seats it contested recently, including its bastion Gorakhpur, and Phulpur in UP, besides Araria in Bihar. Last month, the Congress thumped BJP in Rajasthan, clinching two Lok Sabha and one Assembly seats in the bypolls. It also retained two Assembly seats in MP by-elections, though with reduced victory margins.
Maharashtra bypolls
Results of Maharashtra bypolls won't be any different: Congress
"The results indicate that people were unanimous in their judgement that the BJP is anti-poor and failed to fulfill its promise of tackling unemployment and assurances made to the poor and farmers," Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said. "There is widespread anger against the BJP, and results of the bypolls in Maharashtra, whenever they are held, will not be any different," he told.
Reasons
Reasons for defeat in Rajasthan, MP and UP were different
Maharashtra BJP spokesman Madhav Bhandari said the reasons for defeat in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were different. Referring to Maharashtra, he said that in Bhandara- Gondia, the BJP has maximum numbers in zilla parishads and panchayat samitis. There is anti-incumbency against Patole, who had won on the BJP ticket in 2014 but later quit and joined the Congress, Bhandari said.
BJP's stand
Lack of clarity on Congress-NCP alliance, positive aspect for BJP
Similarly, in Palghar, late Chintaman Wanga's popularity and goodwill will stand the BJP in good stead at the hustings, he claimed. "We also won the Palghar zilla parishad and the panchayat samitis' elections," he pointed out. The BJP leader also said that the lack of clarity on an alliance between the Congress and the NCP was another positive for his party.