Big setback for BJP

The party must draw the right lessons for 2019

The results of the keenly contested Assembly elections in five states were broadly in line with the sense provided by exit polls, except for Chhattisgarh, where a photo finish was predicted. The K Chandrasekar Rao-led Telangana Rashtra Samithi has swept the polls, and in Mizoram, the Mizo National Front routed the ruling Congress. But the most crucial battle was obviously in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Chhattisgarh, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress were locked in a direct contest. The results here provided the most significant takeaway in the context of the general elections in 2019. Contrary