New Delhi, May 31: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has contested 25 of the 27 Lok Sabha by-elections held over the past five years. The party, however, succeeded in winning only 20 percent of the seats.

Notably, the BJP added no new constituency in the last four years. The five bypoll wins registered by the party came on 13 seats which were vacated either due to the death or resignation of incumbent BJP lawmakers.

The remainder of eight seats were wrested from the party, bringing its tally down in Lok Sabha to 274. The number of BJP MPs slided further to 272 with the resignation of BS Yeddyurappa and B Sriramulu, who were elected to the Karnataka Assembly, earlier in the month.

Full List of Lok Sabha Constituencies Where By-Elections Were Held After 2014: BJP Won Only 5 Out of 25 Seats Contested

In 2014, a total of five Lok Sabha by-elections were held. The BJP contested all the five seats, registering victories in only two of them.

    • Beed, Maharashtra

      Winner in 2014: BJP

      Winner after bypoll: BJP

    • Kandhamal, Odisha

      Winner in 2014: BJD

      Winner after bypoll: BJD

    • Medak, Telangana

      Winner in 2014: TRS

      Winner after bypoll: TRS

    • Vadodara, Gujarat

Winner in 2014: BJP

Winner after bypoll: BJP

  • Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh

    Winner in 2014: SP

    Winner after Bypoll: SPIn 2015, a total of 3 Lok Sabha by-elections were contested. The BJP entered the electoral fray in each of the bypoll contests. The party failed to retain the crucial seat of Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh.

  • Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh

    Winner in 2014: BJP

    Winner after 2015 Bypoll: Congress

  • Warangal, Telangana

    Winner in 2014: TRS

    Winner after 2015 Bypoll: TRS

  • Bangaon, West Bengal

    Winner in 2014: Trinamool Congress

    Winner after 2015 Bypoll: Trinamool Congress

In 2016, a total of five Lok Sabha by-elections were contested. The BJP contested four among it, retaining the Shahdol seat of Madhya Pradesh and Lakhimpur constituency of Assam.

  • Lakhimpur, Assam

    Winner in 2014: BJP

    Winner after 2016 Bypoll: BJP

  • Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh

    Winner in 2014: BJP

    Winner after Bypoll: BJP

  • Coochbehar, West Bengal

    Winner in 2014: Trinamool Congress

    Winner after 2016 Bypoll: Trinamool Congress

  • Tamluk, West Bengal

    Winner in 2014: Trinamool Congress

    Winner after 2016 Bypoll: Trinamool Congress

In 2017, a total of four Lok Sabha by-elections were contested, with the BJP contesting on three among them. Apart from failing to win any seat, the saffron party lost Gurdaspur, the constituency it had won in the past four Lok Sabha elections.

  • Amritsar, Punjab

    Winner in 2014: Congress

    Winner after 2017 Bypoll: Congress

  • Gurdaspur, Punjab

    Winner in 2014: BJP

    Winner after 2017 Bypoll: Congress

  • Malappuram, Kerala

    Winner in 2014: IUML

    Winner after 2017 Bypoll: IUML

In 2018 so far, a total of 10 Lok Sabha by-elections have been contested, featuring the BJP's presence in nine of the electoral battles. The party has suffered maximum setbacks this year, losing eight of the nine bypolls. Notably, six of the eight seats where BJP lost were last represented by its own lawmakers.

  • Alwar, Rajasthan

    Winner in 2014: BJP

    Winner after 2018 Bypoll: Congress

  • Ajmer, Rajasthan

    Winner in 2014: BJP

    Winner after 2018 Bypoll: Congress

  • Uluberia, West Bengal

    Winner in 2014: Trinamool Congress

    Winner after 2018 Bypoll: Trinamool Congress

  • Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh

    Winner in 2014: BJP

    Winner after 2018 Bypolls: SP

  • Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh

    Winner in 2014: BJP

    Winner after 2018 Bypoll: SP

  • Araria, Bihar

    Winner in 2014: RJD

    Winner after 2018 Bypoll: RJD

  • Palghar, Maharashtra

    Winner in 2014: BJP

    Winner after 2018 Bypoll: BJP

  • Bhandara-Gondia, Maharashtra

    Winner in 2014: BJP

    Winner after 2018 Bypoll: NCP

  • Kairana, Uttar Pradesh

    Winner in 2014: BJP

    Winner after 2018 Bypoll: RLD

Reacting to the bypoll losses on Thursday, BJP veteran and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the party would take corrective steps. "To take a giant leap, you will have to take two steps back. We will take a giant leap in future," he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 31, 2018 04:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).