Bypoll results will hurt BJP in Maharashtra, Haryana elections: Samajwadi Party

NEW DELHI: The BJP's "bubble" has burst after the assembly bypolls and the results will hurt the party in the Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections, Samajwadi Party said today.

Senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said the bypoll results have helped the opposition parties regain their morale, which had taken a beating after the Lok Sabha elections.

"The opposition was demoralised after the Lok Sabha polls. But after the results of a series of assembly bypolls, the opposition parties are again upbeat," he said.

Responding to questions on the results of the assembly by-elections, Yadav said BJP and its alliance will "naturally be hurt in the coming Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections... There was a Modi wave in the Lok Sabha polls. But now it has disappeared (Modi ki hawa, hawa hawai ho gayi)".

"The BJP has suffered a series of reverses beginning from Uttarakhand and Bihar to Rajasthan, Gujarat and UP. In UP, SP candidates have won by massive margins."

BJP suffered a blow in assembly by-elections on Tuesday, ceding ground in its traditional strongholds barely four months after its impressive Lok Sabha win.

BJP lost 13 out of 23 seats held by it. SP and Congress improved their tally by seven and five seats, respectively. In Gujarat and Rajasthan, the BJP lost three assembly seats to the Congress. SP won eight assembly seats in UP.

Yadav was talking to reporters after flagging off a vehicle carrying relief material for flood victims of Jammu and Kashmir sent by the SP.