NEW DELHI:
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday hailed its electoral gains in by-elections in West Bengal and Assam and the Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, describing the results as a “fitting reply of democracy to mobocracy” and accusing opposition parties of attempting to undermine constitutional institutions.
The BJP swept the West Bengal Assembly by-elections, recording significant victories in Nandigram and Rejinagar. Its performance in Rejinagar, a Muslim-majority constituency, was described as a surprise, while the result in Nandigram carried particular political significance.
In Assam, BJP candidate Devasish Sharma established an unassailable lead of 1,76,391 votes over his nearest rival, All India United Democratic Front chief Badruddin Ajmal, in the Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election. Counting was still under way when the report was filed.
In Uttar Pradesh, all eight BJP candidates and two Samajwadi Party candidates were declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha, an official said. In Puducherry, the ruling All India NR Congress, an ally of the National Democratic Alliance, won the October 6 by-election to the Thattanchavady Assembly constituency.
Reacting to the results, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the BJP was winning election after election under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership despite what he described as lies, confusion and malicious propaganda by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his allies.
Shah said the NDA’s victories in the West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry by-elections, along with recent municipal elections in Rajasthan and Tripura, indicated that voters had rejected the INDIA bloc. He accused opposition parties of questioning constitutional institutions after electoral defeats and claimed that voters had once again expressed confidence in the BJP.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also welcomed the results, saying that while political commotion might dominate public discourse temporarily, the people’s verdict ultimately carried greater weight. He criticised those whom he accused of spreading disorder and failing to understand public sentiment.
Senior BJP leader Smriti Irani described the results as a fitting response from democracy to what she called mobocracy. She attributed the BJP’s victories in Nandigram and Rejinagar to the West Bengal government’s stated commitment to good governance under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
BJP president Nitin Nabin said the results demonstrated public support for the party’s development and governance agenda under Modi’s leadership. He also accused the opposition of attempting to mislead voters.
The party’s statements followed a series of electoral contests in which the BJP and its allies secured victories or made significant gains. The results provided the BJP leadership with an opportunity to challenge the opposition’s criticism of the government and constitutional institutions.
The claims made by BJP leaders regarding the broader political implications of the results represent the party’s assessment of the electoral outcome. The results themselves varied by constituency and state, while the opposition’s wider concerns about electoral processes and constitutional institutions remain separate political questions.