Patna: Detailed reports have been sought from BJP booth managers and office-bearers involved in managing the July 30 Bankipur assembly byelection which the party lost to Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor by 19,324 votes. Bankipur had been a BJP stronghold for nearly three decades and was represented by the party’s national president Nitin Nabin, who vacated the seat after his election to the Rajya Sabha in April.Chief minister Samrat Choudhary, BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi, several ministers, MLAs and senior party functionaries reviewed the byelection result at a meeting held for more than two hours at the BJP state office on Wednesday to discuss the possible reasons behind the NDA candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha’s defeat in the Bankipur assembly byelection.Based on the feedback received, a comprehensive report will be prepared and submitted to the BJP’s central leadership to help formulate future election strategies.However, the CM said the meeting of the Patna metropolitan unit party workers featured a detailed discussion on the upcoming ‘Tiranga Yatra’ from Aug 10 to 14, the birth anniversary of Sant Shiromani Guru Ravidas Ji on Aug 7, and the effective implementation of the organisation’s upcoming programmes.But it is reported that the state leadership also questioned the party functionaries involved in the campaign to identify where election preparations had fallen short and to understand the underlying causes.BJP MLAs from Patna district, Sanjiv Chaurasia, Ratnesh Kushwaha and Sanjay Gupta said the party decided to review the feedback from the booth level. Gupta said the BJP is not flustered at all while Ratnesh and Sanjiv said it was an organisational meeting of the BJP to discuss the byelection result. Sanjiv said the BJP workers’ morale was high despite the byelection results.Patna City MLA Ratnesh said the party discussed the false narrative created by the opposition. “There is no public resentment against the govt, but we are trying to find out our shortcomings which resulted in a verdict against us,” he said.Individual feedback was also sought from the party leaders and workers entrusted with the responsibility of the election campaign. The meeting aimed to understand why the party faced defeat in its traditional stronghold.Key topics of discussion included the situation at the booth level, organisational activity, local issues, public discontent, election strategy, and social equations.The meeting also deliberated on whether there was voter dissatisfaction regarding the state govt’s performance or if the party suffered losses due to shifts in caste and local dynamics. Several party functionary shared insights regarding local issues and voter feedback that emerged during the campaign.
