BJP rocked as Modi, Yogi cornered on home turf months ahead of 2019 polls

Piqued Yogi govt points to conspiracy by Opposition, even as Gorakhpur hospital deaths, BHU incident put question mark on party's efficiency

With less than 18 months left for the next Lok Sabha poll in 2019, the recent incidents in the VIP constituencies of Gorakhpur and Varanasi, which put the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dispensation in Uttar Pradesh on the back foot and scurrying for cover, are ample reasons for setting the alarm bells ringing for the saffron party and its spin doctors.

While Varanasi is the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gorakhpur was, till last week, being represented by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Parliament. Yogi had vacated the Gorakhpur seat on September 21, marking the end