Elections to the legislative councils of four Indian states produced several unexpected results, even as the BJP-led NDA alliance did well overall. The BJP was reported to have lost both seats in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
In Nagpur, Maharashtra, Congress won a legislative council seat. Nagpur is the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and the win is seen as politically significant.
Congress’s overall showing in the elections, held for 28 seats across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka and Maharashtra, fell short of expectations. Early reports said the party lost most of the seats it contested. The win of its candidate Abhijit Wanjari in Nagpur gave the party some relief.
Nagpur has long been known as a stronghold of the BJP and the RSS. A Congress win there has started fresh debate about the state’s political arithmetic.
Congress loses all four seats in Karnataka
Congress lost all four legislative council seats in Karnataka, where it is in power, including one seat it held. That has raised questions about whether a gap has opened between running the state government and keeping voters’ support at the ballot box.
A big shift in Bihar’s teachers’ constituencies
Bihar’s results told a different story. Sitting members lost all four teachers’ constituency seats, in Patna, Saran, Darbhanga and Tirhut. In the Patna, Tirhut and Kosi graduates’ constituencies, the sitting members held their seats.
In other words, representation changed in the teachers’ constituencies, while the old members kept their places in the three graduates’ seats.
In the Patna teachers’ constituency, Dr Sanjeev Kumar of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) defeated the BJP’s Nawal Kishore Yadav. Reports said Yadav had held the seat for nearly 30 years, and the loss of so long-held a seat is seen as a significant blow to the BJP.
In the Darbhanga teachers’ constituency, Congress’s Madan Mohan Jha lost to Suresh Prasad Rai of Jan Suraaj. The result has opened discussion about the rise and influence of a new political force in Bihar.
NDA ahead overall, with exceptions
Alongside the overall success of the BJP-led alliance, the council elections showed different political trends from state to state. The Congress win in Nagpur, the BJP’s loss of a long-held seat in Bihar and the ruling Congress’s defeat in all four Karnataka seats do not add up to any single trend.
Council elections are, however, a limited guide to public opinion in Lok Sabha or state assembly elections. Voters in the teachers’ and graduates’ constituencies differ from the general electorate, so while these results stir debate in national politics, they cannot be used to predict the outcome of the next Lok Sabha or assembly elections with any confidence.
Overall, the Congress win in Nagpur and the defeats of different parties in Bihar and Karnataka stood out against the NDA’s general success. If the reports of the BJP losing both seats in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, are confirmed, that could add to the political pressure on the party.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report