Overconfidence cost us UP bypolls: Yogi Adityanath

Addressing the media after BJP's defeat in Phulpur and Gorukpur bypolls, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath attributed the loss to over confidence among the party workers. He also hinted that the SP-BSP alliance is also partly responsible for BJP's loss.

Yogi Adityanath also hinted that the party would deeply introspect on today's verdict.

Earlier, five-time lawmaker from Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath had described the by-elections as a dress rehearsal for the general election next year.


The bypolls were necessitated after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya vacated the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats respectively following their election to the state legislative council.

He also said that local factors play a role in byelections, but in the General Elections, the good performance of the Modi government and its welfare schemes will have an impact in BJP's favour.

The Chief Minister conceded that the results were unexpected and the defeat is a lesson for the BJP which will do introspection about the causes of the setback and devise strategies to defeat the opposition. "The party needs to do a serious introspection rather than remain complacent," he said.