Overconfidence, changed political equation behind BJP's loss in Gorakhpur, Phulpur Lok Sabha bypolls: Yogi Adityanath concedes defeat

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has conceded defeat in the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha by-elections, saying “overconfidence” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cost them dear. Congratulating winning candidates of the Samajwadi Party – Pravin Nishad (Gorakhpur) and Nagendra Patel (Phulpur) – the BJP strongman said that the “party accepts the verdict of the people”.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister further conceded that the BJP failed to ascertain the impact of the “last-minute alliance” of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). “In the last moment, the SP and the BSP came together, and we did not expect the impact of the alliance. There was failure in understanding the changed political equation,” said Adityanath.

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He, however, also hit out at both the parties, saying their "political trade" will stall the wave of development in the country. “We will design our strategy against the alliance,” he added. 

According to the BJP leader, local issues preside over during byelections and issues of national importance take a backseat, and that was also a factor of BJP’s loss in the bypolls in both the seats. “Local issues play a key role in bypolls, and in General Elections, there will be national issues,” he said.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past four years has worked a lot for the poor and other marginal sections of the society. And these factors will dilute local issues in the General Elections,” he added. He further said that he hoped the winning candidates would work to fulfil the aspirations of people.

The results of the Lok Sabha bypolls in Adityanath’s bastion Gorakhpur has come as a massive setback for the BJP, which held the seat for as long as 27 years.

It was Mahant Avedyanath who first won the seat for the BJP in 1991. He won the second term in 1996. After him, Yogi Adityanath held on to the bastion by winning for the Lok Sabha seat for the first time in 1998, and then went on to win the seat for four more terms.

The byelections in Gorakhpur and Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh were necessitated as Yogi Adityanath and Keshav Prasad Maurya were elevated as the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister of the state respectively.