State Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said the setback to the BJP in the lok Sabha by-elections of Uttar Pradesh will have no effect on the prospects of the party in Uttarakhand.
Replying to the questions of journalists at state party office on Thursday, the CM of Uttarakhand said that party would perform well in the upcoming elections of urban local bodies.
He attributed loss of Gorakhpur and Phoolpur lok Sabha seats to the overconfidence of the party workers. The Uttarakhand CM was of the view that coming together of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also affected the outcome of these polls.
The State party president Ajay Bhatt who also was present on the occasion brushed aside the electoral reversal to the party in the lok Sabha bypolls as temporary phenomenon which will have no bearing on the party.
“We lost three Vidhan Sabha by-elections in Uttarakhand after which everyone wrote us off but we bounced back and won 57 seats in the Assembly elections of 2016,” he said. Prophesying that victory chariot of BJP would continue to roll; Bhatt said that party would perform wonderfully in the Uttarakhand.
Though the BJP leaders of Uttarakhand are putting up a brave face and adopting an ‘All is well’ posture, anxiety is clearly visible among the rank and file of the party. The political observers also opine that defeat of BJP in neighbouring UP in the crucial by election should ring alarm bells for the state Unit of Uttarakhand BJP.
“We should take lesson from these defeats. The assembly elections of UP were held along with Uttarakhand and within one year the change in mood of the people is visible in these bypoll results. In Uttarakhand the municipal body election and by election for Tharali Assembly seat are due and the party cadre should start preparations for them without any further delay. Further an in-depth introspection of government’s work should be taken and corrective measures taken,” conceded one party leader.