The BJP suffered a huge setback on Saturday losing five out of eight urban civic bodies to the Congress in elections held on December 22.

After the Ratlam Lok Sabha seat last month that the Congress snatched from the BJP, this is the second big win for the grand old party, which has been out of office in Madhya Pradesh since December 2003.

Elated Congress officials claimed they'd stopped the saffron juggernaut after Ratlam, and followed it up with winning five municipal councils. The BJP had held seven out of eight of the urban bodies that polled – the only one it didn't have was Bheraghat that remained with the Congress.

The BJP retained Mandsaur, Sehore and Shahganj urban civic bodies, suggesting its continuing sway over urban areas. In the five semi-urban areas and small towns of Dhamnod, Orchha, Majhauli, Bheraghat and Shajapur, it lost – two of these by narrow margins: Orchha by 96 votes and Majhauli by 474. (Agencies)