This week has been a shocker, not only for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was confident of crossing the 400 mark in the Lok Sabha election but also for the opposition INDI alliance, which succeeded unexpectedly across states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, among others. New victors and new losers emerged. Most importantly, it was proven that democracy is not dead in the country with the largest number of voters in the world.
Here is the Lok Sabha Election 2024 decoded:
- The PM Modi-led BJP had set a target of 400 seats for this election, but the alliance fell short, securing only 292 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. The BJP alone was reduced to 240 seats, a significant drop from the 303 seats it won in 2019.
- The electoral results were heavily influenced by the state of Uttar Pradesh, which has 80 seats in the Lok Sabha. This year, the saffron party managed to secure only 33 seats in the state. The biggest shock came from the Faizabad constituency, where the grand Ram Mandir was inaugurated earlier in January, as it was won by the Samajwadi Party (SP).
- In addition to Uttar Pradesh, the states of Maharashtra, Haryana, and Rajasthan also deviated from their usual voting patterns.
- There were several unexpected losses, such as Smriti Irani losing in Amethi. Notably, political figures like Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar have emerged as kingmakers and are eyeing key portfolios in the Modi 3.0 cabinet.
- A day after the results were announced, there was speculation that the INDI Alliance would stake a claim to form the government. However, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge later announced that the bloc would present a united opposition in Parliament against the NDA.