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Bypoll defeat a jolt for BJP’s expansion plans in state
Bagha polled 23,099 votes as compare to Dhaliwal’s 49,211, the lowest vote share of the saffron party from the seat ever since it started contesting in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
CHANDIGARH
Drubbing in Mukerian and Phagwara assembly bypolls have come as a big jolt for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) whose local leadership has created a hype over its expansion plans in the state keeping in view the next assembly elections scheduled for 2022.
In the Phagwara (reserve) assembly segment — vacated by Som Parkash after he won the Lok Sabha election —party nominee Rajesh Bagha faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Congress’ Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal by a margin of 26,116 votes, the highest among the four seats.
Bagha polled 23,099 votes as compare to Dhaliwal’s 49,211, the lowest vote share of the saffron party from the seat ever since it started contesting in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
The only solace for the party was in Mukerian where the BJP candidate Jangi Lal Mahajan, a moneybag, gave tough fight to Congress’ Indu Bala, who was contesting polls on an emotional appeal citing untimely death of her husband and sitting MLA Rajnish Babbi. Mahajan, who hardly got any support from the party leadership, lost by 3,440 votes, despite all-out efforts by the ruling party to win the polls.
The saffron party witnessed a substantiated drop in its vote share in the segment, which gave a lead of over 37,000 votes to the party nominee in the recently held Lok Sabha polls.
“There was no crisis management seen during the polls. Rather, these were the worst-contested polls by the state unit where almost all so-called senior leaders remained absent as they were not assigned duties,” a former BJP minister said.
