INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hoped that his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would win 400 seats in a House (Lok Sabha) of 543 seats.
Instead, the NDA bagged fewer than 300 seats. In 2019 the NDA had won 352 seats.
The BJP itself got 240 seats on its own, 32 short of an absolute majority. For the first time in a decade, the BJP will have to rely on its allies. The Telegu Desam Party (TDP) and JDU [Janta Dal (United)] won 16 seats and 12 seats, respectively.
Incidentally, Modi’s own victory margin of 152,000 votes in Varanasi (UP) was down from 479,000 in 2019. This is the state of the Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya. Yet in UP, the NDA won only 37 of the 80 seats; the INDIA bloc got 42 seats.
Was this a loud and clear message from moderate Hindus?
The Hindu newspaper noted: “The result means that there would be a coalition government at the Centre after a decade. It is likely to impact relationships in the NDA, within the BJP and between the BJP and the RSS.”
The newspaper also noted in an editorial that the verdict of the people cannot be clearer than this: “It wants the BJP to be more conciliatory and less confrontational towards the political aspirations of various communities and regions of India. The verdict also shows the limits of communal polarisation as a mobilisation strategy. The BJP must heed that message in a democratic spirit, and reorient itself to the reality of the reemergence of coalition politics after 10 years.”
The Times of India in an article said: “Lok Sabha elections have given BJP-led NDA a weak mandate to govern. BJP has received its biggest jolt since 2014, having been humbled in its bastion of UP and many other sub-regions of west and north India. It no longer has a majority of its own, brought down by its own hubris. Gains elsewhere were not enough to compensate for the losses in its strongholds.”
It also noted: “Gains made by INDIA bloc came not just at the cost of BJP but also third party candidates. India has become a two-front polity once more, as it was between 1998 and 2014, even though BJP has expanded its core vote base under Modi.”
Meanwhile, there is speculation that the INDIA bloc will try to get the support of the JDU and the TDP to form the next government.
NDTV noted: “If the INDIA bloc wants to have a shot at power, they need a combo of JDU, TDP and some Independents too. The BJP, on the other hand, must retain them at all costs if they want to stay in power.
“In fact, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge dropped a broad hint when he spoke of new partners in the party’s presser this evening. “Until we talk to our alliance partners… and the new partners that could join us about how we could work together and get a majority, we will see. If I reveal all our strategies now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will become wary (‘hoshiyar ho jayenge’).””
IANS reports:
Karnataka Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said on Tuesday that “our leaders are holding meetings, anything can happen in Indian politics”.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said, “The BJP has failed to get a majority on its own and they have to accept the verdict. People have rejected their strategy of breaking parties in Maharashtra. People have also rejected the politics of emotion.”
He added that the BJP was saying that it would win more than 400 seats, but it has fallen way short of that.
“The results clearly show that there is no Narendra Modi wave, or Ram Mandir wave even in North India. The BJP has lost even in Ayodhya,” Shivakumar said.
“The results have made it clear that the popularity of Prime Minister Modi has gone down drastically, including in the Hindi belt. The BJP has to admit that it hasn’t got a majority. The party which won 303 seats last time has been reduced to 243 seats. It is now dependent on other parties,” the senior Congress leader said.
“The Congress party is nearing the 100-seat mark which shows that the people have reposed faith in the party. This revival is due to the tireless efforts of our leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, who took out the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Priyanka Gandhi also contributed significantly to this revival,” Shivakumar said.
ON Wednesday, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) unanimously elected Modi as the bloc’s leader.
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Leader N Chandrababu Naidu, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas (LJPRV) Leader Chirag Paswan and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Leader Praful Patel were among those who attended the meeting.
At the INDIA bloc meeting on Wednesday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said: “The mandate is decisively against Mr. Modi, against him and the substance and style of his politics. It is a huge political loss for him personally apart from being a clear moral defeat as well.”
The INDIA bloc meeting was attended by top Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, K.C. Venugopal. Party chiefs of many alliance partners, including Sharad Pawar, M.K. Stalin, Sitaram Yechury, Champai Soren, Akhilesh Yadav, and Tejashwi Yadav, also attended the meeting.
Results from the Election Commission of India:
[Interesting fact: ‘AAP’ is called ‘AAAP’ by the Election Commission of India because the abbreviation ‘AAP’ was allotted to Awami Aamjan Party much before the Aam Aadmi Party was formed.]
(Click on the numbers for the full list of those elected)
Bharatiya Janata Party – BJP: 240
Indian National Congress – INC: 99
Samajwadi Party – SP: 37
All India Trinamool Congress – AITC: 29
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam – DMK: 22
Telugu Desam – TDP: 16
Janata Dal (United) – JD(U): 12
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackrey) – SHSUBT: 9
Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar – NCPSP: 8
Shiv Sena – SHS: 7
Lok Janshakti Party(Ram Vilas) – LJPRV: 5
Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party – YSRCP: 4
Rashtriya Janata Dal – RJD: 4
Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPI(M): 4
Indian Union Muslim League – IUML: 3
Aam Aadmi Party – AAAP: 3
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha – JMM: 3
Janasena Party – JnP: 2
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) – CPI(ML)(L): 2
Janata Dal (Secular) – JD(S): 2
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi – VCK: 2
Communist Party of India – CPI: 2
Rashtriya Lok Dal – RLD: 2
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference – JKN: 2
United People’s Party, Liberal – UPPL: 1
Asom Gana Parishad – AGP: 1
Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) – HAMS: 1
Kerala Congress – KEC: 1
Revolutionary Socialist Party – RSP: 1
Nationalist Congress Party – NCP: 1
Voice of the People Party – VOTPP: 1
Zoram People’s Movement – ZPM: 1
Shiromani Akali Dal – SAD: 1
Rashtriya Loktantrik Party – RLTP: 1
Bharat Adivasi Party – BHRTADVSIP: 1
Sikkim Krantikari Morcha – SKM: 1
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam – MDMK: 1
Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) – ASPKR: 1
Apna Dal (Soneylal) – ADAL: 1
AJSU Party – AJSUP: 1
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen – AIMIM: 1
Independent – IND: 7
Total (won / Total): 543 / 543
