By-election results wakeup call for BJP: Swamy

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

Scrutinising the results of four Lok Sabha and 10 assembly seats, where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) only managed to win one-one seats each, senior party leader Subramanian Swamy said it's a wakeup call for them ahead of the 2019 General Elections.

"Party workers should not feel disappointed. It's important to bring popular leaders and the party workers in front. We need to give respect to the workers. The party shouldn't be run like a corporate office. On an all, these results are a wake-up call for us," Swamy told ANI.

"This time around, people gave votes on the basis of caste. I won't oppose since it was the first time when Mayawati, a scheduled caste leader, came up in front along with Yadavs and Jaats. Even though we lost because of this, still it's good for the Hindu community. But if we will continue to take relevant steps towards Hindutva, then we will get more seats in the General Elections next year," he added.

Swamy further said that the BJP needs to mobilise its voters.

"During by-elections, people can vote to punish you. But, when general elections come, they look at more important things. If this 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) is our challenger, then in Lok Sabha everybody will know that Pakistan and China can dominate us because there are some Chinese parties like the Communists and there are some pro-Pakistan parties like the Congress," Swamy said.

"Therefore, the conscious younger generation will not vote for them. We need to mobilise them and make them feel the importance of voting," he added.

On Thursday, the only seat that the BJP managed to retain in the assembly elections was the constituency of Tharali in Uttarakhand, where its candidate Munni Devi Shah won, defeating Congress' Jeet Ram with a margin of 1981 votes.

The BJP registered its lone victory in the Loksabha by-polls from Maharashtra's Palghar, where its candidate Rajendra Gavit won by 29572 votes.