No consolation for BJP, 3 nominees lose deposit

The BJP came a distant third in all four Assembly byelections and failed to derive any consolation from the results that were declared today.

The loss of its candidates was a foregone conclusion but the party was hoping for putting up a better fight. Its policy of putting up ‘adopted’ candidates from other parties has not produced the desired results for the third consecutive elections.

In the 2022 Assembly elections, the party could win only two out of the 117 seats. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party failed to open an account, but there was a significant consolation of about three-time increase in its vote share (18.5%) from the previous election. Also, the party candidates had led from 23 Assembly constituencies in the Lok Sabha poll.

It was hoped that this vote share and lead in 23 Assembly constituencies would translate into bigger victories in the bypolls, but it did not happen. The party candidates for the three out of the four seats lost their security deposits. Only Kewal Dhillon saved some prestige in Sangrur. A tall leader like Manpreet Singh Badal lost the purse in Gidderbaha while Ravi Kahlon and Sohan Singh Thandal faced a similar fate in Dera Baba Nanak and Chabbewal, respectively.

Party insiders feel there was a strong disconnect with the traditional BJP workers and the ‘adopted’ candidates. The BJP does not have a strong cadre of its own in these constituencies and they depended on the network of the ‘adopted’ candidates only.

The party did not face as many protests by farmers as it encountered in the Lok Sabha elections six months ago but still there was no improvement in its performance. The party leadership is likely to meet in few days to introspect and reflect on the poll results.

The leadership crisis seems to have affected the party’s fortunes too. The incumbent president, Sunil Jakhar, did not campaign for the party candidates even as the BJP national leadership continues to show faith in him. The candidates were basically running their own campaign.

There is also a buzz now that the party may finally replace Sunil Jakhar and appoint an active leader as its state president. There is again a contest between traditional BJP leaders and those who joined the party in the recent past.