Assembly bypolls verdict: 10 big takeaways

One of the most intriguing aspects of the September 13 bypolls has been the curious decision by BSP supremo Mayawati to sit it out. An upbeat Samajwadi Party is only going to mean more works for the BSP, which drew a stunning blank in the last Lok Sabha polls.

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Assembly bypolls verdict: 10 big takeaways
Assembly bypolls

Assembly bypolls
Assembly bypolls

It was the first major electoral exercise since the milestone general elections in May, which saw the BJP led by Narendra Modi storm to power. The results of the bypolls to 33 Assembly seats declared on Monday, however, saw the weakening of that winning streak, raising questions on the shelf-life of the Modi wave.

Here are the ten major takeaways of the bypolls verdict:

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1. Achche din for the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh where the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party snatched eight of the 11 seats from its BJP incumbents. Achche din, said a beaming Akhilesh Yadav too.

2. The bypoll verdict proved to be a case of diminishing returns of communal polarisation for the BJP, as reflected in the controversial 'love jihad' campaign, which the party had encouraged through various Hindu groups in Uttar Pradesh. Firebrand Yogi Adityanath's chips are bound to be down from now on.

3. One of the most intriguing aspects of the September 13 bypolls has been the curious decision by BSP supremo Mayawati to sit it out. An upbeat Samajwadi Party is only going to mean more works for the BSP, which drew a stunning blank in the last Lok Sabha polls.

4. In more bad news for the BJP, three seats went to Congress and one to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's party in Rajasthan. This after the BJP had made a clean sweep in the state in the general elections in May.

5. It's leadership blues in Gujarat for the BJP where the party, that has been ruling the state for 14 non-stop years, losing three seats to a down-and-out Congress. The 6-3 verdict is bad news for Modi's successor in Gandhinagar, Anandiben Patel.

6. The BJP, however, created history in West Bengal where it finally entered its Assembly for the first time.

7. The dismal showing in the bypolls has played the big spoiler a day ahead of Narendra Modi's 64th birthday, which falls on Wednesday. Though he wasn't the BJP's star campaigner this time, the BJP still called out for votes in his name.

8. The results cast a long shadow over the 100 days that the Modi government is celebrating at the Centre despite the party dismissing the results as a referendum on the NDA government.

9. The setback to the BJP also weakens its position amid a bitter negotiation with its ally in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena, whose chief Uddhav Thackeray has been pitching himself as the next chief minister of the state. How the seat-sharing deal for the October 15 polls will be now held between the two allies will be keenly watched.

10. The verdict has given the parties opposed to the BJP the much-needed elbow room as they gear up for the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections now only a month away.