New Delhi: BJP’s Mission 2019 got a major scare as the party received a stunning blow as it lost the prestigious Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh to the Samajwadi Party, supported by the BSP, and two of the three bypolls (Jehanabad Assembly and Araria Lok Sabha) to the RJD in Bihar.
The blow was crippling in U.P as the BJP lost Gorakhpur, the saffron citadel and home turf of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the BJP’s Hindutva icon, as well as the Phulpur held by his deputy K.P Maurya.
The Lok Sabha seats were vacated by Chief Minister and deputy CM after they took charge of the state last year. The Gorakhpur seat had been held by the BJP for the past 29 years.
Making it clear yet that there are no permanent enemies in politics, rivals SP and BSP joined forces after nearly 23 years.
The new slogan Bua-Bhatija zindabad subdued the saffron roar — UP mein rahena hoga toh Yogi Yogi kahena hoga”. A consolidation of OBC, Dalit and Muslim votes powered SP candidates to victory. However, Congress’ candidates in U.P lost their deposits.
