BJP in minority in LS?

This could be the defining moment for BJP: After the latest losses, BJP's current tally in the Lok Sabha is 272, down from 282 that it had won in 2014. That means it is virtually in minority in Lok Sabha.

The BJP's strength comes from its allies, including AIADMK (37) and TDP (16) who are agitated in Parliament over the Centre not conceding their demands. The other allies are: Shiv Sena (18), Lok Jan Shakti Party and Akali Dal (4), Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (3), Apna Dal (2), PDP (1) and Swabhimani Party (1).

The losses in UP are not isolated: In all the six Lok Sabha bypolls this year, BJP has drawn a blank. In January this year, the party lost two more Lok Sabha bypolls in Ajmer and Alwar in Rajasthan. It also lost in MP.

The BJP's hopes of re-election at the Centre hinge heavily on a good performance in UP. In 2014, it had, along with allies, won 73 out of the state's 80 LS seats.

What is worrisome is that it has lost both the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats in UP which it had won by a margin of more than

3 lakh votes each in the 2014 election.

‘’We did not understand the significance of the SP-BSP deal and one of the reasons behind that failure was our over-confidence,’’ said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while conceding defeat.

In the same breath, Yogi added, “This opportunistic deal between BSP and SP has been forged to put hurdles in the way of the country's development. We will soon come up with our strategy to tackle this.’’ Stung by the unexpected reversals, BJP said it will go back to the drawing board and revisit its strategy ahead of the 2019 General Elections, especially with the SP and BSP drawing closer.’’ Samajwadi Party's Nagendra Singh Patel won the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha by-election with a margin of 21,916 votes. The victory in Phulpur was even more emphatic: the SP candidate won by a margin of 59,613 votes. All this does not augur well for BJP.