The Election Commission’s data released early Wednesday morning showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a total of 240 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Although the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been a dominant force in India’s political landscape with continuous wins in both general and assembly elections since 2014, it did not reach the majority threshold of 272 seats. As a result, the party will need the backing of its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies to establish a government at the Centre.
The Congress party demonstrated signs of an electoral resurgence after suffering severe defeats in the 2014 and 2019 general elections against the BJP. Despite being dismissed by political analysts before the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, the Congress made a robust comeback, securing 99 seats.
The Congress party nearly doubled its seat count compared to the 2019 general elections, where it had won 52 seats. This time, the party secured 99 seats.
On the other hand, the BJP, which had secured 303 seats in the previous Lok Sabha elections, lost nearly 20 percent of its constituencies this time.
Exit polls had forecasted that the NDA would win over 350 seats, effectively decimating the INDIA bloc. However, contrary to these predictions, the Opposition’s strategy appears to have succeeded in states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party emerged as the single-largest party by winning 37 seats. The Congress secured 6 seats, while the BJP, which had achieved landslide victories in 2014 and 2019, managed to win only 33 seats.
In Maharashtra, the Congress won 13 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) secured 9 seats, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP obtained 8 seats. The BJP-led alliance, however, won just 17 seats.
The BJP, however, delivered an outstanding performance in Odisha, winning 20 out of the state’s 21 Lok Sabha seats. In Andhra Pradesh, the BJP and its allies, TDP and Janasena, secured 21 out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats.
On Tuesday, the Congress declared that the loss of seats represented a moral defeat for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PM Modi, however, described the poll results as an “unprecedented moment in the history of India”.
Here is the full list of how political parties performed in the Lok Sabha polls:
- BJP: 240
- Congress: 99
- Samajwadi Party: 37
- Trinamool Congress: 29
- DMK: 22
- TDP: 16
- JD(U): 12
- Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray): 9
- NCP (Sharad Pawar): 7 (leading in 1)
- Shiv Sena: 7
- Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas): 5
- YSRCP: 4
- RJD: 4
- CPI(M): 4
- Indian Union Muslim League: 3
- AAP: 3
- Jharkhand Mukti Morcha: 3
- Janasena Party: 2
- CPI(ML)(L): 2
- JD(S): 2
- Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi: 2
- CPI: 2
- RLD: 2
- National Conference: 2
- United People’s Party, Liberal: 1
- Asom Gana Parishad: 1
- Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular): 1
- Kerala Congress: 1
- Revolutionary Socialist Party: 1
- NCP: 1
- Voice of the People Party: 1
- Zoram People’s Movement: 1
- Shiromani Akali Dal: 1
- Rashtriya Loktantrik Party: 1
- Bharat Adivasi Party: 1
- Sikkim Krantikari Morcha: 1
- Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam: 1
- Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram): 1
- Apna Dal (Soneylal): 1
- AJSU Party: 1
- AIMIM: 1
- Independent: 7
With just over 290 seats, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has a slim majority. After securing over 230 seats, the INDIA bloc might attempt to gain support from BJP’s allies like TDP and Nitish Kumar’s JD(U).
Also Read: NDA Wins 3 Consecutive Terms In Lok Sabha Elections 2024
