# BJP loses Bankipur, Datia by-elections; Manjalpur margin falls 2026-08-12T22:28:25+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The BJP lost two of three by-elections held in November, ceding Bankipur (Bihar) and Datia (Madhya Pradesh) while retaining Manjalpur (Gujarat) with a sharply reduced vote share, from 75.85% in 2022 to 67.19%. Deccan Chronicle reports that the results, involving just 3.7 lakh voters, signal a deeper crisis for the party. Four factors are identified: urban voter fatigue over civic neglect and unemployment; caste engineering that backfired when capable leaders were sidelined; acute cadre discontent over candidate selection, including violent protests in Datia; and the emergence of alternatives beyond the Hindutva versus anti-Hindutva binary. ## Coverage - deccanchronicle.com Tags: Bankipur, BJP, by-elections, Datia, Manjalpur, urban voters Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bjp-loses-bankipur-datia-by-elections-manjalpur-margin-falls/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bjp-loses-bankipur-datia-by-elections-manjalpur-margin-falls/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.