The BJP had a mixed day, at best, in the assembly bypolls on Monday. The saffron party won only one of the three seats that went to polls, all of them in states it rules.
It lost the high-profile Bankipur seat in Bihar and failed to wrest Datia in Madhya Pradesh, though the BJP held on to Manjalpur in PM Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat.
The results came days after the Centre was put under pressure -- and the education minister had to be replaced -- over protests that saw massive participation of youth in Delhi against repeated examination paper leaks. Track election results live here
Bankipur loss hands Prashant Kishor first win
The biggest setback for the BJP came from Bihar, where Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor defeated BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar by 19,324 votes in Bankipur.
The BJP had held the seat since 1995.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP had held the seat since 1995.
{{/usCountry}}The bypoll was held after BJP national president Nitin Nabin resigned from the assembly upon moving to the Rajya Sabha.
This was Kishor's first election victory since entering politics and gave Jan Suraaj its first MLA. The party had failed to open its account in the 2025 Bihar elections.
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During the campaign last week, Kishor said Jan Suraaj already changed Bihar's political debate despite not being in power.
RJD's vote share also dropped sharply. Its candidate, who had polled more than 46,000 votes in the last assembly election, got fewer than 15,000 votes this time.
BJP loses Datia
The BJP also lost the Datia assembly bypoll in Madhya Pradesh, with Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh defeating BJP's Ashutosh Tiwari by 6,016 votes.
The Congress retained the seat, which it had won in the 2023 elections.
BJP holds Manjalpur
The BJP's only win came from Gujarat, where it comfortably retained the Manjalpur Assembly seat.
BJP's Satendrabhai Patel defeated Congress candidate Bhikhabhai Rabari by a margin of over 30,000 votes.
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Opposition steps up attack
The Opposition was quick to target the BJP after the results.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav linked the defeats to public anger over paper leaks, unemployment, inflation and corruption. Calling the verdict the “beginning of change”, he said it showed the “unity of the youth and the outrage of their guardians”.
He added that "even the BJP's safest and most traditional seats won't be able to save them from defeat now" and described the outcome as the “double defeat of the double-engine government”.
“Bhagwan ko nachane ka ahankaar rakhne walon ko Bhagwan ne hi nacha diya. (Those who believed they could make God dance have instead been humbled by God Himself),” the SP chief said.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal also took a swipe at the BJP over the bypoll results.
READ ALSO | 'BJP just lost its president's seat': Kejriwal on Prashant Kishor's big debut win in Bihar's Bankipur
Congratulating Prashant Kishor on his debut win, Kejriwal said, “The BJP has lost even the seat of its national president.”
He claimed the BJP's “ground has completely shifted” and blamed the result on issues such as “fund theft, paper leaks, E20” and growing public dissatisfaction with the Narendra Modi government.
"The arrogance is breaking down. The people of the country have given a signal of change," he added.
Results come after Jantar Mantar protests
The bypoll results came days after the Centre took a beating from non-stop GenZ-driven protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar over exam paper leaks and education reforms.
The agitation, led by the satirical digital front Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), began over the NEET paper leaks before ballooning into a mass movement on education, jobs and governance.
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After over a month of protests and hunger strikes, the Centre opened talks with CJP leaders. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan was forced to resign on June 25, and the government announced a series of measures, including examination reforms, discussions on preventing future paper leaks and compensation for families of students who died by suicide following exam paper leaks.
The CJP later ended its protest, saying the government accepted its key demands.
Kishor on CJP's impact
Last week, Kishor said the popularity of the CJP was an example of public frustration with the BJP growing day by day.
“The so-called party is being talked about because within no time of it hitting the Internet, nearly two crore people have signed up,” he told reporters.
“It must be understood that there is public distress which has led to so many people associating themselves with the party. Problems like unemployment, corruption, price rise and non-availability of gas and fertilisers have created a situation in which so many people are endorsing this campaign.”
Asked if the campaign could influence future elections, he said, “That remains to be seen. But the response to the campaign should have the government concerned. It is indicative of a trust in the system giving way to anxiety.”