Good omen for secular forces: Congress on BJP's loss in by-polls

New Delhi: Congress today termed the results of Assembly bypolls, in which BJP suffered major reverses, as “good omen” for the secular forces and said it should ring alarm bells in the saffron party as people have rejected the “politics of polarisation”. Saying that “Modi (government’s) honeymoon period with the people was over”, party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed sought to portray the verdict in Uttar Pradesh, where BJP could win only three of 11 assembly seats while rest going to SP, as “the vote against BJP more than in favour of any party”. [caption id=“attachment_1715617” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] He, at the same time, acknowledged that Congress could not perform as per its expectations in the Hindi state by not winning a single seat, but reminded that in the Lok Sabha elections too, it had won only in two of the 80 Parliamentary constituencies. Ahmed claimed that anti-incumbency factor has set in within 100 days of Modi government coming to power. “People did not like the attitude of BJP and Modi government. While the Prime Minister himself kept silent, BJP leaders and ministers in the Modi government played the politics of polarisation with their statements. People of Uttar Pradesh have rejected BJP’s politics of hate mongering. “This is perhaps first government, whose anti-incumbency had begun within 100 days of coming to power…Alarm bells are ringing for the BJP. This is a good omen for secular forces that people have started rejecting them,” Ahmed said. He, however, noted that Congress’ gains in Gujarat and Rajasthan were significant as in the Lok Sabha polls it had drawn a blank in both states. Terming the results as a “morale booster” for Congress, Ahmed, who is AICC general secretary in-charge for poll bound Haryana said, “Now we will try to improve our performance”. Turning to Uttar Pradesh, the Congress spokesman alleged that “full authority” had been given to people who were responsible for inciting riots in the state. “Leave aside caste, creed and religion, these communal forces were acting as triggers to incite fight between husband and wife,” he said, in an obvious reference to BJP raking up the issue of ‘Love Jihad’, the alleged forcible conversion of Hindu girls through marriage. PTI