India, Nov. 30 -- NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party leaders from Bengal say that their poor show in the recently held byelections in the state was because of the adverse buzz over National Register of Citizens (NRC) and overconfidence of some state leaders.

The BJP lost all three Assembly seats from Bengal that went to the bypolls, while the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) won the three. The BJP even lost its sitting seat of Kharagpur Sadar to the TMC. Kharagpur was considered to be a stronghold of the BJP.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh was the MLA from Kharagpur Sadar. He vacated the Assembly seat after he won the Lok Sabha seat of Kharagpur earlier this year.

Many believe that the loss is a personal setback for the state president ...