By-elections concluded: A test for the BJP wave

Moneycontrol BureauOn Saturday, bye-elections for three Lok Sabha seats (in Vadodara, Gujarat; Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh; and Medak, Telangana) and 33 assembly seats across 10 states were held, concluding what would be a test for the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party -- which swept across the nation in the general elections held in May this year – to hold on to its momentum.Most by-elections were required after either successful candidates had won from two constituencies during the national elections and had to opt out of one (LS seats) or because sitting MLAs had to vacate their seats after wining the LS elections (assembly).The elections would be a test for the BJP especially in the key states of Gujarat (nine assembly seats) and Uttar Pradesh (11). Observers say the bypolls in Gujarat would be a test of incumbent chief minister Anandiben Patel as well as the party’s rank-and-file in the absence of its star campaigner Narendra Modi. While in UP, it would offer cues into whether the BJP can translate its national success on to the state level.Counting for each of the seats begins on September 16.A favourable showing in the bypolls would not just help the BJP prove that it can replicate its success at state levels – especially after elections in Maharashtra and Haryana have already been announced while those in Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir are likely to follow soon -- but also give it more bargaining power with allies who have already been playing hardball with the party.Recently, the BJP’s ally in Haryana, the Haryana Janhit Congress, parted ways with it, while in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena appears to be in no mood to offer the BJP the number of seats it wishes to contests.In August, the BJP had faced a tough contest in the Bihar bypolls when rivals Congress, RJD and JD (U) teamed up a grand alliance and secured six of the 10 seats that went up to vote.After sweeping the Lok Sabha polls in May, the Modi-led BJP government at the Centre has been trying to prove it can live up to its poll promise of reducing corruption, fighting inflation and kick-starting economic growth.But state elections may well be a different ballgame where national issues of governance may take a backseat while regional issues such as federalism, state politics or caste come to the fore.