Saffron party to analyse poll results, contemplate action

Vibha Sharma

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 3

Concerned over election results in North, the BJP-led Centre appears to be contemplating action to defuse people’s anger over issues, including rising prices of essential commodities and fuel.

While BJP leaders are attributing setbacks in Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan to “issues related to ticket distribution, internal sabotage and infighting in local units”, observers say farmers’ agitation and rising prices may affect saffron prospects in polls early next year, especially in the north.

Himachal results are an additional worry because it is also the home state of party president JP Nadda. Observers say the results from the hill state reflected farmers’ anger, the apple growers protesting against the plummeting price of the fruit in the wholesale market.

Central leaders say yesterday’s results will have no bearing on assembly elections early next year and that Himachal results, in particular, are a “reflection on CM Jai Ram Thakur” a year before the state polls. However, this is not good news for the BJP ahead of elections to five states three of which are in North and agrarian in nature – UP, Uttarakhand and Punjab. Amid the growing buzz that “HP may follow the pattern of change seen in Uttarakhand a couple of months back”, sources say the Central leaders “will hold discussions (on what went wrong)”. “The results have just come. Discussions and analysis of results are an essential part of the BJP’s functioning,” they added.

Incidentally apart from Himachal, West Bengal too came as a major embarrassment for the BJP which lost two seats it won in recent elections to the TMC. The Congress, meanwhile, claimed that the results of byelections held to various state Assembly and Parliament seats were a “clear indication” that the “BJP is losing its momentum especially in Hindi heartland” due to its “anti-people policies”.

People voted against price rise: Pilot

Jodhpur: Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on Wednesday said policies of the BJP led to its defeat in the bypolls to two Assembly seats in the state, with people voting on issues of price rise and apathy towards farmers. “The height of anger against the BJP can be gauged from the fact that in both constituencies, BJP candidates were nowhere in the race, securing third and fourth place,” Pilot said. PTI