Diehard supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party said the passage of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Act overturning a Supreme Court order concerning certain safeguards against arrests under it was the main reason for the party’s defeat in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and held the Narendra Modi government at the Centre responsible for the debacle.
"It is the arrogance of the BJP brass that led to the party's defeat in these elections. The upper caste was angry the way the Modi government reversed the effects of the apex court order concerning arrest under the SC/ST Act. They voted against the party resulting in the BJP's defeat in these elections," said medical practitioner Dr SK Pandey.
Claiming to be a diehard supporter of the BJP who never voted for any other party in his life, Dr Pandey was, however, happy at the defeat of the BJP in these elections.
"It should be clear to the party leadership now that Dalits did not vote for them. I think the party should learn some lessons from this defeat and mend its ways," he said.
Similar views were expressed by Sudhir Sehgal, a government employee.
The refrain was not confined to the common man. Even ruling party lawmakers came out in open, speaking against amendments to the SC/ST Act and termed it as a major factor for the party's poor show.
BJP MLA from Bairia (Ballia) Surendra Singh said: "The BJP cannot win elections by hurting the sentiments of savarna (upper castes). The decision to bring amendments to the SC/ST Act proved to be suicidal."
The upper caste is the traditional vote bank of the BJP.
Leaders in BJP office were clueless about the reasons of such a heartbreaking poll outcome. "We were expecting reverses only in Rajasthan. But our performance in Chhattisgarh has shocked one and all," a senior leader commented.
Meanwhile, the state government put up a brave face over the results of assembly polls, claiming that the mandates given by the people of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Telangana were not a referendum against the BJP or the Modi government at the Centre.
State government spokesperson and Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh told reporters in Lucknow on Tuesday that as a cadre-based party, the BJP would review the results in the coming days.
"The results can be bad or good, but we will certainly review them. However, the assembly poll results are not a referendum against the BJP or the Central government," he weakly submitted.