Amit Shah said BJP is ready to win 50 per cent votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls (File)
BJP chief Amit Shah today acknowledged his party lost the crucial Lok Sabha bypolls in Uttar Pradesh because of the electoral understanding between the SP and the BSP.
A panel has been formed to analyse the reasons for the BJP's loss and the party is ready to win 50 per cent votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he told news channel Aaj Tak in an interview.
"We lost the polls as the SP and the BSP reached an electoral understanding at the last hour," he said.
Asked if the BJP's electoral mathematics could be ruined by a possible SP-BSP alliance in 2019, he said, "It is not so simple."
"The media is harping on the results of the elections to two seats (Gorakhpur and Phulpur)... The Congress distributed sweets in the Parliament complex. But no one is talking about the 11 states we wrested from them. No one is talking about Tripura," he said.
"We should keep in mind that bypolls are fought on local issues, but the general elections involve senior leaders and bigger topics," he said.
Replying to a question on Yogi Aditynath's remark that the BJP lost the bypolls due to "overconfidence", Mr Shah said he did not know what the UP chief minister was referring to.
To a query related to fighting the 2019 elections without the support of the Telugu Desam Party and the Shiv Sena, he said: "11 parties joined hands with the BJP in 2014. Only one of them has left us. The National Democratic Alliance will remain intact."
The BJP chief said the party was sure of winning the Karnataka Assembly polls considering the way Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was running the government there.