By-polls not a barometer for BJP: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that he does not consider by-polls' result as the barometer for the fate of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while referring to his party's defeat in Kairana parliamentary by-poll.

The senior BJP leader said, "You can consider these small elections as barometer, but I will not."

Kairana, in western Uttar Pradesh, was the most watched constituency in the recently-held parliamentary by-poll as opposition parties came together to field a common candidate- an experiment that bested the BJP in the state's Gorakhpur and Phoolpur earlier this year.

Rashtriya Lok Dal's Tabassum Hasan, supported by Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, is almost a winner; BJP's Mriganka Singh accepted defeat and congratulated her opponent even as official result was yet to be announced.

Prasad, however, chose to downplay the BJP's defeat, adding that "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hard work has helped the people in the country and that will not go unnoticed in the upcoming elections."

The victory Kairana may give a shot in the arm to the newly-found opposition unity, boosting up efforts of stitching a grand alliance against BJP for 2019 general elections.