By-elections are rarely a true test of political sentiment at the national level. They are often fought on hyper-local issues, with personalities and caste equations playing a greater role than ideology or policy. Yet, the recent by-elections across Gujarat, Punjab, Kerala, and West Bengal offer insights that major political players would do well not to ignore. The most striking takeaway is the evident erosion in the BJP’s popularity. Of the five seats contested, the party managed to win only one—in Gujarat, its traditional stronghold. Even that victory has been overshadowed by a humiliating defeat in Visavadar, where the BJP’s Gujarat president lost by a margin of 17,000 votes. That such a senior........

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