Bypolls put Himachal Pradesh CM in spotlight, Shivraj emerges stronger in Madhya Pradesh

Chouhan credited the BJP's success in MP to the visionary leadership of PM Modi and the faith of the people in the welfare policies of the BJP

A shocked Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday blamed sabotage and price rise as the twin reasons for BJP's wipeout in the bypolls in the hill-state, exposing the party's shortcomings ahead of the Assembly elections next year.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma further consolidated his position in the BJP by ensuring victory of three candidates and the wins by ally United Peoples' Party Liberal on two seats in the state.

The bypoll results in Madhya Pradesh may finally put at rest the speculation over the future of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Though BJP ceded the Raigaon Assembly seat to the Congress, it wrested two seats Prithvipur and Jobat from its rival. Chouhan also ensured the victory of BJP's Gyaneshwar Patil from the Khandwa Lok Sabha seat.

Chouhan credited the BJP's success in Madhya Pradesh to the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the unwavering faith of the people in the welfare policies of the BJP government. The BJP's defeat in the Rajasthan bypolls has put the focus back on the leadership question in the state, where former chief minister Vasundhara Raje finds herself on the sidelines.

Read | With bypoll results, alarm bells ring for BJP

BJP finished fourth in Vallabhnagar, mainly on account of factionalism that saw rebels contesting against the official candidate Himmat Singh Jhala. Former BJP MLA Randhir Singh Bhindar contested as an Independent and another BJP leader Udailal Dangi was in the fray as a RLP candidate and polled 43,817 and 45,107 votes respectively.

Preeti Shaktawat of Congress polled 65,713 votes to emerge victorious, while Jhala managed to garner 21,433 votes.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister said the BJP will brainstorm on the reasons for the defeat and chart its roadmap for the future. Thakur admitted that internal sabotage and price rise were the reasons for the party's poor performance in the bypolls.

The results in Himachal could force the BJP to review Thakur's performance as CM. The state goes to polls in November next year along with Gujarat, where BJP dropped chief minister Vijay Rupani and brought in Bhupendra Patel recently.

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