Just a week before the Modi government competes its 100 days, the by-election results have come as a jolt to the BJP. The saffron party, which witnessed a spectacular victory in the Lok Sabha polls, has faced a setback too soon. No doubt by- elections are fought and won mostly on local factors, but the results have certainly punctured the feel good factor of the BJP and given a ray of hope to the opposition.
The results of the recent by-polls to 18 Assembly seats across four states, including in crucial Bihar, were to say the least, disappointing for the BJP. Of the 18 seats, the party won seven and ally Akali Dal one, while the Congress and its allies bagged 10. The Congress won the key seats like Bellary in Karnataka and Patiala in Punjab and also managed to wrest one BJP seat from Madhya Pradesh.
The results of Bihar could be particularly galling for the BJP because