Mood in Favour of Opposition, if the Modi-Shah duo factor is not combined

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• Apr 18, 2022 | Poonam Nath

In contrast to its performances in state Assembly elections over the last eight years, the BJP has typically performed poorly in assembly polls.

Digital Desk: The Bharatiya Janata Party was defeated almost predictably across the states of Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh in the mini byelections ahead of the most important presidential elections, where every single member of Parliament, MLA, and MLC will count to the final result, conceding a Lok Sabha MP and three MLAs to the non-BJP Opposition.

In bypolls, the BJP has traditionally performed poorly, in contrast to its performances in state Assembly elections over the last eight years, in which it has won in various new areas and recently won all four states, and in parliamentary elections, where it has done phenomenally twice in a row.

Apart from many local difficulties that can't be overlooked, the absence of the Narendra Modi and Amit Shah combined factor is the cause where the opposition party's mood is in their favor.

The saffron party's own two leaders who defected to the Trinamool Congress won in West Bengal, where the twin defeats must have wounded the most. Shatrughan Sinha, a Bollywood celebrity and former Central Minister who was a dissenting voice for virtually the entire Modi regime, won Asansol by a massive margin of over three lakh votes.

Singer Babul Supriyo secured the Ballygunge seat and could be rewarded with a cabinet position in the state, despite a recent resentment for not being accepted into the Cabinet during a reshuffle-cum-expansion. He narrowly defeated Saira Shah Halim of the CPI(M), while the BJP finished in third place.

After West Bengal, the BJP has all but forsaken the state. The biggest defeat in a state ruled by the NDA was in Bihar. In Chhattisgarh, there seems to be no change in public mood for the incumbent Bhupesh Baghel government.

Combining the three parties provides the Aghadi with an unbeatable lead in Maharashtra. If the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, and Shiv Sena remain united till the next Lok Sabha elections, the BJP will have a lot to worry about. The Opposition sees these bypolls as a nationwide mood against the BJP and the Modi administration.

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