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Looking at major poll results after the 2014 general elections, the BJP has made "good progress" if we see the results of the Assembly elections in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

While the major opponent Congress started "losing its relevance" with losses in Assam and Kerala, the victory of BJP in Assam opened the gates for its further expansion in the North East. Led by the brilliant strategy of party general secretary Ram Madhav, the BJP was able to win 86 of 126 Assembly seats in Assam with an effective vote share of 29.5 per cent.

In the case of Kerala, BJP's vote share increased from 6 to nearly 15 per cent although it could not be converted in number of seats. Nonetheless, the BJP was able to dislodge the Congress-led UDF from power in the state.

UDF losing 26 seats in the Hindu heartland is one such example. In Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, the BJP was able to maintain its vote share with candidates contesting on almost all seats. Considering the tough walk for BJP in the southern states, these successes cannot be overlooked.

In Bihar too, the BJP was able to register a "moral victory" against an "opportunist alliance" between JD(U) and Lalu Yadav-led RJD by drawing the maximum share of votes at 24.4 per cent in the keenly contested state elections.

Except for Delhi, the BJP did not lose so badly where it was supposed to be a major opponent. In Delhi too, BJP was able to maintain its vote share of more than 30 per cent unlike the Congress, which lost all seats with a vote share of just 9.7 per cent.

Even if these results mark an early referendum on the BJP government at the Centre, the comfortable success of the party makes the argument flawed and misleading.

Moreover, in a key state like Maharashtra the BJP was able to win the maximum number of 122 seats with the highest vote share of 27.8 per cent. Not only did the BJP get its first CM in the state, it was also able to dilute the Shiv Sena's "political immaturity".

The BJP was also able to register a victory in local body polls in other parts of the country like Rajasthan, Gujarat and Chandigarh, with the demonetisation policy as one of the main campaign planks.

In Madhya Pradesh (MP) municipal elections, the BJP won 30 seats in the 35-member civic body. In Chandigarh, it was able to muster 20 of 26 seats in the municipal elections. In Rajasthan too, the BJP improved its performance by winning 67 civic bodies in comparison to 49 in 2010.

In Arunachal Pradesh, a BJP government was formed with the joining of 33 of 43 PPA MLAs led by CM Pema Khandu.

With the recent success of the BJP in the Odisha panchayat elections(2017), the party has been able to give up the tag of being an "urban party". In the just concludedMaharashtra municipal elections, the BJP emerged as the big winner by conquering the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporation, along with Akola, Amravati, Solapur, Pune, Nasik, Nagpur and Ulhasnagar. In Mumbai too, it got 82 seats, just two less than its bitter partner Shiv Sena.

All these results for more than two years in favour of the BJP are not the outcome of a coincidence. Rather it shows identification of the people, both in rural and urban areas, with the party's ideology, governance model and leadership.