NEW DELHI: BJP IT chief Amit Malviya on Monday slammed the RJD, alleging that it appeared to have facilitated a transfer of votes to the Jan Suraj Party in an attempt to stop the BJP.
Hours after Prashant Kishor was declared elected from Patna's Bankipur seat in the by-election, Malviya, in a post on X, said, "What unfolded in Bankipur should ring alarm bells for the RJD. In an attempt to stop the BJP, it appears to have facilitated a transfer of votes to the Jan Suraj Party".
He further added, "History shows that when an established party creates space for an emerging challenger, it often ends up weakening itself more than its principal opponent".
Citing historical examples, he said, "In 2011, the Congress stepped aside in West Bengal to help the Trinamool defeat the Left. The result? Trinamool grew, while the Congress was reduced to the margins".
Malviya added, "The same mistake was repeated in Delhi. By ceding political space in the name of stopping the BJP, the Congress enabled AAP’s rise and eventually found itself reduced to barely 2% vote share".
He also asserted, "That said, perspective is important. A by-election is primarily a local contest to elect an MLA, not a verdict on the next state government. There are several examples of this".
Referring to previous electoral outcomes, he added, "In 2018, the BJP lost the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha by-elections in Uttar Pradesh to the SP, despite the previous MPs from both constituencies, Yogi Adityanath and Keshav Prasad Maurya, serving as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister.
Yet the BJP went on to win both the 2019 Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh and the 2022 Assembly election decisively".
He also cited a Maharashtra by-election, saying, "Similarly, in 2023, the BJP lost the prestigious Kasba Peth Assembly by-election in Maharashtra to the Congress. But in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election, the BJP not only regained Kasba Peth but the BJP-led NDA swept the state with 232 seats, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party".
Dismissing suggestions that the Bankipur result could indicate the BJP's prospects in future elections, Malviya said, "The lesson is straightforward: by-election results do not necessarily predict the outcome of the next general or assembly election".
He added, "For now, however, the founder of Jan Suraj has achieved what many new political entrants aspire to - winning a seat in the Bihar Assembly, much like I. P. Gupta of the Indian Inclusive Party. Whether this marks the beginning of a larger political journey or remains an isolated success will be determined in the 2030 Bihar Assembly election".
Malviya also asserted that the BJP would learn from the result and continue its political efforts in the state. "The BJP will draw the right lessons from this result, move forward with renewed resolve, and continue delivering on the promises it has made to the people of Bihar," he remarked.
