The BJP’s poor showing in the by-elections in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan is a wake-up call for the party in the forthcoming state elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.

Though there is understandable glee in the Congress on the BJP’s poor showing less than four months after it won a stunning majority in the Lok Sabha elections in May, both the Congress and the BJP will do well to remember that these are by-elections and do not necessarily hold a mirror to the performance of the Centre.