The BJP’s defeat in Himachal is the bitterest (File)
New Delhi:
After the results on October 30, problems may arise for the two Chief Ministers of BJP. by-election declared.
What is worrying Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and his Karnataka counterpart Basavaraj S Bommai is that the BJP has swiftly replaced four chief ministers in six months – Vijay Rupani in Gujarat, BS Yediyurappa in Karnataka and Trivendra Singh Rawat and Tirath. Lion. Rawat Uttarakhand.
The BJP’s defeat in Himachal was the bitterest, as arch-rival Congress grabbed three assembly and one Lok Sabha seat, which went to polls on October 30.
Mr. Thakur accepted defeat and said that the party would learn from him. He credited the Congress’s victory in the Mandi Lok Sabha seat to the party playing the “emotional card” by fielding Pratibha Singh, wife of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh.
Urging party workers not to be disheartened by the results, he said they should start preparing for the assembly elections to be held next year.
The fact that state elections are only months away is no reason for Mr Thakur to feel relieved about his post, thanks to the BJP’s “no-repeat” strategy. In Gujarat, where elections were also due next year, the BJP replaced the entire state cabinet in an apparent attempt to divert criticism from the party and towards individual leaders.
For Mr Bommai, the challenge is of a different kind. The October 30 by-polls to the two assembly seats were the first major electoral test for the Lingayat leader, who was promoted to chief minister after his predecessor Mr Yediyurappa’s long discussions with the BJP’s central leadership.
While the BJP wrested the Sindgi seat from the Janata Dal (Secular), the defeat in his home constituency Hangal is a setback for Bommai. This defeat will only hurt more as the Chief Minister had campaigned extensively in this constituency before the elections. What’s more, because the defeat is a missed opportunity to consolidate its position in the state party unit.
Mr Bommai, however, put up a brave front in a Twitter post saying that “defeat is normal in a democratic system”.
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