- Monday, February 24, 2025
The biggest shock for the ruling party and alliance came in the northern state if Uttar Pradesh which it had swept in the 2014 and 2019 general elections.
By: Shubham Ghosh
EARLY counting on the day (4) of results for the Indian general election 2024 suggested that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by prime minister Narendra Modi was not going to see a landslide that many exit polls had predicted ahead of D Day.
While most pollsters gave the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) around 350 seats, which marks a comfortable majority in the parliament of 543 members (272 is the magic figure to form government), the actual results showed that the NDA even fell short of the 300 mark.
The Hindu nationalist party, which was leading in 240 seats, was predicted to deliver disappointing results in four of India’s top five states in terms of parliamentary seats.
In Uttar Pradesh, for instance, the BJP and its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal was leading in just 36 seats as against the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) which was ahead in 43 seats. The INDIA bloc in Uttar Pradesh includes the Indian National Congress and the Samajwadi Party. Uttar Pradesh sends 80 members to the Indian parliament, the most for any state and is thus one of the key states, politically.
Read: Despite Ram Mandir inauguration, Modi’s BJP receives blow in Uttar Pradesh: trends
In Maharashtra, too, the day looked gloomy for the BJP-led NDA. In the state that sends 48 MPs to the parliament, the ruling alliance was leading in only 17 seats while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (Maharashtra Development Front) including the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and Nationalist Congress Party – Saratchandra Pawar (NCPSP) were leading in 30 seats. The NDA in the state includes the BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP.
In West Bengal, the BJP failed to deliver on the promise. Having emerged as a top opponent party against the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the Hindu nationalist party was leading in just 12 of the state’s 42 seats, a far lesser performance compared to its show in 2019 when it won 18 seats. The TMC was leading in 33 seats and the Indian National Congress in one. Despite the BJP’s efforts to capitalise on the alleged crime against women in Sandeshkhali area of the state, the TMC took a comfortable lead over Modi’s party.
Read: India election results: What could a reduced majority mean for Modi’s BJP?
In Bihar, the fourth largest state in terms of parliamentary seats (40), the BJP-led NDA was leading in 31 seats. While the party itself was leading in 12 seats, its ally Janata Dal (United), which joined the alliance just months before the elections after leaving the opposition INDIA, was leading in 14 seats. Lok Janshakti Party – Ram Vilas was the third ally which was leading in five seats. The INDIA bloc was leading in just nine seats.
In Tamil Nadu, which sends 39 MPs to the parliament, the BJP was leading in no seat while the NDA was leading in just one, thanks to the local outfit Pattali Makkal Katchi. The INDIA alliance was leading in 37 seats, of which 21 belonged to the state’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, nine to the Congress and the rest to others.
The NDA was leading in just 94 seats out of 266 in five of India’s largest states in terms of parliamentary seats. The opposition were leading in 152.
