What bypoll defeats in Bankipur, Datia mean for BJP after Gen Z protests – ‘Time for self-introspection’

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 3 August faced defeats in assembly bypolls in Bankipur of Bihar and Datia in Madhya Pradesh. The saffron party is in power in both the states.

The BJP's sole consolation came from Gujarat, where it retained the Manjalpur seat in Vadodara, albeit with a drastically reduced victory margin compared to the 2022 elections.

The defeats come close on the heels of intense youth-led protests over exam paper leaks that led to resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last month. The loss signals a shifting political wind across the Hindi heartland, exposing vulnerable fault lines in the BJP's traditional strongholds, according to experts.

Bankipur – the BJP bastion for 30 years

The victory of Kishor, whose fledgling Jan Suraaj Party had failed to open its account in the 2025 assembly election in Bihar, came as a rude shock for the BJP, which held the seat for over three decades - since 1995. The seat was last held by BJP's national president Nitin Nabin, who resigned as an MLA to take up the national role, thus necessitating the byelection.

"The victory is a wake-up call for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who must install a new chief minister in place of Samrat Choudhary, a man with criminal antecedents," said Kishor.

The Congress retained the Datia assembly seat, with Ghanshyam Singh trouncing BJP's Ashutosh Tiwari by 6,016 votes in the bypoll held amid students' stir and differences in the saffron camp after party leader Narottam Mishra was denied a ticket.

Congress leaders linked the victory to "awakening" among students and other sections of the country, calling it the "beginning of the end of the BJP rule". Party leader Pawan Khera said it was a moral defeat for the BJP. He said that in Madhya Pradesh, which is considered the laboratory of the RSS, and where the BJP has been in power for decades, the Congress has won the Datia seat despite the BJP government in power.

'Are all these voters 'anti-national'?'

"Are all these voters 'anti-national'? RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat should be asked if he wants to give a certificate of 'anti-national' to all such voters," Khera asked.

Former Delhi chief minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal said the people want change. "The BJP has lost even the seat of its national president. Prashant Kishor has won from Bankipur with a huge margin. Heartiest congratulations to him. The BJP's ground has completely slipped away.

"'Chanda chori' (Donation theft), paper leaks, E20...There is deep dissatisfaction among the people towards the Modi government. Arrogance is breaking down. The people of the country have given a signal of change," Kejriwal said in a post on X.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday slammed the BJP over its poor performance. Calling it a combined result of the youth's unity and outrage stemming from various other issues, he said, “Even the BJP's safest and most traditional seats will no longer be able to save them from defeat,” he said.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said that the victory of Kishor in Bankipur and Ganshyam Singh of Congress in Datia "will send a strong message to the BJP".

Self-instrospection calls within the BJP

Leaders in the BJP said the party would draw lessons from the debacle. Veteran BJP leader and four time Member Legislative Assembly & Cabinet Minister, Madhya Pradesh, Yashodhara Raje Scindia said its time for “self-instrospection.”

While Bihar chief minister Samrat Chaudhary said he respects the people's verdict, state BJP president Sanjay Saraogi said in a statement, "We bow before the will of the people. We shall draw lessons from the debacle, unlike our opponents who tend to blame every electoral loss of theirs on EVMs and the Election Commission".

BJP president Nitin Nabin accepted the people's mandate saying the party will conduct a "thorough introspection" of the election results in Bankipur and Datia seats in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh respectively and work tirelessly to further strengthen their trust with renewed energy.

Nabin held Bankipur assembly seat before he resigned as an MLA to take up the national role, thus necessitating the bypoll.

"We will conduct a thorough introspection of the election results in both these areas with complete seriousness, and with renewed energy and determination, we will continue to go among the people and work tirelessly to further strengthen their trust," the BJP chief said in a post on X.

What led to BJP's loss in Bankipur, Datia?

Clearly, the two results served as serve as an unexpected reality check for th BJP, highlighting local voter discontent, internal party factionalism, and the vulnerability of safe strongholds.

Among other things, it means loss in safe saffron bastions. Bankipur was a secure, three-decade-old stronghold vacated by BJP national president, where the party's vote share plummeted from over 62 per cent in late 2025 to 34.4 per cent now.

Losing seats in states where the party is actively in power (Bihar and Madhya Pradesh) demonstrates that traditional voter loyalty and safe turf cannot be taken for granted, experts said.

Internal discord

Congress retained Datia seat. The party had won the seat in 2023 but before that Datia had elected the BJP three times in a row.

The denial of a ticket to senior leader Narottam Mishra triggered severe local backlash, protests, and infighting that the replacement candidate could not overcome in Datia.

Violence erupted in Datia on 11 July, as supporters of senior BJP leader Narottam Mishra clashed with police and blocked a national highway after the former minister was denied a ticket for the 30 July assembly byelection, news agency PTI reported.

The nearly 12-hour blockade on NH-44 by over 3,000 protesters left the Datia superintendent of police and several cops injured before security forces cleared the highway and arrested some agitators, officials said.

Absence of the Nitish Kumar

In Bankipur, Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party capitalized on shifting urban loyalties and anti-incumbency. Analysts pointed to voter anger over local governance, unemployment, and student protests regarding paper leaks as a factor impacting turnout and support.

Bankipur bypoll was was the first election in the constituency held without Nitish Kumar's cross-sectional voter alignment and broad OBC backing anchoring the NDA alliance.

Political observers suggested that Nitish Kumar's exit from state leadership—moving to the Rajya Sabha and leaving the BJP in sole command under Samrat Choudhary, contributed to the BJP losing its Banipur bastion. Though local factors were also resposible.

Did Gen Z protests play a role?

“The Gen Z protests highlighted our weakening support among the youth, especially the upper castes, who have been our core base. They had been unhappy over the controversial UGC regulations and, now, they have begun to feel that we are taking them for granted,” Kishor said after Monday's victory.

The outcome of the assembly bypolls in Datia and Bankipur may not alter the stability of the BJP and BJP+ governments in the two states, but political observers believe the results carry wider implications, coming against the backdrop of recent student protests and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Political analyst Rasheed Kidwai told LiveMint that results Datia, if clubbed with Bankipur, should serve as a warning call for the BJP.

“A conventional result would mean the ruling party winning bypolls both in Bihar and MP. But that has not happened,” Bhopal-based Kidwai said, adding that the results reflect a changing political mood in the Hindi heartland,” Kidwai said.

“If you club Datia results with Bankipur, I would say that it is a result of some level of disillusionment in the BJP voter, particularly in the Hindi heartland, after recent protests and the education minister’s resignation. The BJP should read the writing on the wall,” Kidwai, also an author, said.

(With agency inputs)