The by-election results in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar demonstrated the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) real vulnerability and demolished its claimed invincibility. The loss of all the three Lok Sabha seats in the Hindi heartland, supposed to be the saffron party’s stronghold, sent out the message that a united Opposition can give the BJP a run for its money. Forces championing the cause of social justice and those practising a politics of hatred and polarisation were pitted against each other.
Perhaps the principal factor that resulted in the BJP’s drubbing was the perception that the BJP governments at the Centre and
