UP Bypolls: We underestimated SP-BSP alliance, says Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, taken aback by the shocking defeat in his home constituency on Wednesday by Samajwadi Party (SP) candidates, who were backed by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) workers, said "overconfidence cost the BJP both the seats".

“Overconfidence cost BJP both the seats. We underestimated the SP-BSP alliance," Adityanath said.

The UP CM further told the media that they will introspect the reasons behind the people’s verdict in the two Lok Sabha seats.

The saffron party lost both the high-profile seats to SP candidates which had been won by a margin of over 3 lakhs in 2014 by Adityanath and his deputy, Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Nagendra Singh Patel of SP emerged victorious in Phulpur with a margin of 59,613 votes. While, Pravin Nishad won Gorakhpur, a seat held by the saffron party since 1989, by 21,881 votes.

Adityanath’s home constituency, Gorakhpur, was BJP bastion for the last 28 years. The seat was first won in 1989 by his guru Mahant Avedyanath in 1970 and the UP CM had held the Lok Sabha seat since 1989.

Adityanath was the face of BJP across states during the recent elections, next to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah. The Gorakhpur mutt priest was seen in all major election campaigns or rallies of the saffron party in the country recently. He had addressed at least 35 rallies during the Gujarat Assembly elections last year, was face of the party in Tripura, Manipur and Nagaland.

Adityanath also frequented to Kerala during the Janaraksha Yatra last year and recently visited Karnataka to campaign for BJP, where elections are due in May.

“A government which gives pain to the people or has no respect for their feeling got a fitting response,” said former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Taking further dig at Adityanath, Yadav added, “The state never had a chief minister who mocked the Constitution like he did. In Assembly he said he does not celebrate Eid because he was a Hindu. He instructs police to kill criminals and even cut them to pieces.