Shahdol bye-poll, in fact, was the first test of BJP's electoral popularity after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation exercise. Despite this, the BJP managed to retain the Shahdol Lok Sabha seat though with a reduced margin. The BJP also retained Nepanagar assembly constituency in the state.

The BJP’s Shahdol win, however, was not as emphatic as its victory two years ago. Even though it won the seat with a margin of 60,383 votes, the difference was over 2.4 lakh at the height of the Modi wave during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. While BJP candidate Gyan Singh – the tribal and scheduled caste welfare minister – polled 4,81,398 votes, the Congress Candidate Himadri Singh secured 4,21,015 votes.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, BJP candidate Dalpat Singh Paraste had polled 5.25 lakh votes against his nearest rival – Himadri’s mother Nandini Singh – who managed just 2.84 lakh. Paraste’s death had facilitated this by poll.

However, the BJP scored a comfortable win in the Nepanagar assembly constituency, where its candidate – Manju Dadu – defeated her closest rival, Congressman Antar Singh Barde, by 42,198 votes. While she polled 99,626 votes, Barde had to remain content with 57,428.

“The Congress has no answer to CM Shivraj’s popularity. The Congress does not exist in Madhya Pradesh anymore,” tweeted BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayavargiya.

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, for his part, congratulated voters of both the constituencies as well as party workers. “The people’s unflinching faith in the BJP’s principles and policies gives us new energy. The dream of all-round development in Madhya Pradesh will definitely be achieved,” he said on Twitter.

BJP followers seemed to agree with him. “This was the people’s mandate for the Prime Minister’s demonetisation scheme,” said Akash Singh, a young voter from Shahdol.

The Congress had expected the people’s suffering due to the demonetisation move, which resulted in the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, to work in its favour in the state.

It had become a major issue in the state, pushing the killing of eight SIMI operatives in a police encounter on October 31 onto the backburner. The resultant financial meltdown had even given the jitters to BJP leaders who had sought to cash in on the SIMI encounter.

At least six people died across the state due to the alleged effect of demonetisation, and many continue to queue up for long hours in front of rural banks and ATMs even now. An anxious Chouhan had been announcing at every election meeting that he would ensure the exchange of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes through banks across the state.

The chief minister had been frequenting the Shahdol Lok Sabha constituency for the last four months, and laid foundation stones for several development schemes worth over Rs. 600 crore ahead of the by poll notification.

The Congress also made all-out efforts to win the Shahdol, getting party MPs Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kamal Nath to lead its campaign.

Moments after his party’s victory in the by-elections, MP Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched a scathing attack on Congress saying people gave it a “befitting reply” for its “vicious campaign”, particularly on demonetisation issue.

Terming the victory as “significant”, he said results showed people of the state endorsed the policies of the BJP government and voted for development and were not misled by the falsehood unleashed by the opposition.

He claimed the Congress had resorted to negative campaigns and gimmicks and even distorted statements of BJP candidates in a bid to create a “certain kind of atmosphere” in the state. Soon after the results were announced, Chouhan along with other party leaders and ministers went to BJP state office here to thank people for reposing faith on the BJP.

The party, however, subdued victory celebration due to the demise of former governor Ram Naresh Yadav. “We have assembled here not for any celebration. Due to the demise of the former governor, we have decided only to garland the portraits of our party veterans like Deendayal Upadhyay,” Chouhan said.

State BJP state chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan said the victory was the best possible reply to the Congress who had tried to mislead the people on the demonetisation issue. “This victory will encourage us to work harder and it has motivated us further to realise the vision 2018 under the leadership of Shivraj Singh Chouhan”, he said.

The Congress, however, tried to put on a brave face drawing solace from its “increased vote share” compared to 2014 Lok Sabha elections. “In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, our candidate lost by 2.16 lakh votes. This time our candidate lost by about 50,000 votes. This shows the sloppy implementation of demonetisation process cost BJP such a large number of votes,” state Congress president Arun Yadav told media. Yadav also alleged that BJP government used the administrative machinery to its advantage. “I complained to the election commission about this issue. Their (BJP) people used money and liquor to woo voters”, he alleged.

The Aam Aadmi Party said the defeat of the Congress at a time when people were severely hit by the impact of demonetisation manifested how weak it had become in the state. “These election results show how weak Congress has become in the state now. The BJP has won because people don’t have much option,” AAP leader Akshay Hunka said.(IPA Service)