The year 2024 can be called a watershed period for India as the country witnessed Lok Sabha and eight state assembly elections during the period. It was a momentous year also in the sense that these polls witnessed many things never seen before and set many records that may have far-reaching consequences.

The Election Commission of India announced the programme for holding General Elections to the 18th Lok Sabha on March 16, 2024. It announced to hold the polls in seven phases spread over a period of almost two months- April and May. More than 90 crore of electorates used their right to franchise to elect 543 members of the Lower House of the Parliament. Results were declared on June 4.

BJP Falls Short Of Majority

Founded in 1998, the ruling coalition of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was led by the BJP. While the ultra-nationalist party was led by J P Nadda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spearheaded the election campaign.

The opposition coalition of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance or INDIA was led by the Congress Party. Mallikarjun Kharge led the Congress while its campaign was spearheaded by Rahul Gandhi.

Also Read: Indian Economy In 2024: Resilient Growth Amid Inflationary Pressures, Record Forex Reserves

The INDIA bloc has its constituents who have a presence in different states.

While the BJP was limited to 240 seats, the NDA garnered 293 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. The Congress got 99 seats while the opposition bloc won 240 seats. The majority mark was 272 seats. It succeeded in stopping the saffron party from getting a majority of its own. While the BJP failed to make a government of its own, Narendra Modi took oath as the Prime Minister for the third time.

Rahul Gandhi was elected the Leader of Opposition in the Lower House of the Indian Parliament.

Along with the Lok Sabha elections, the ECI also announced on March 16 its programme of holding the elections for state assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Odisha.

Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections

The ECI held the elections for Andhra Pradesh on May 13, 2024, and the results were declared on June 4. Telugu Desham Party of the NDA bloc won 133 of 144 seats it contested. Its NDA alliance got 164 seats in the 175-seat assembly.

The incumbent YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) won just 11 seats, while the Congress, the CPI and the CPI(M) could not win a seat.

TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu became the Chief Minister of the state.

Arunachal Pradesh

The elections to elect 60 members of the 11th Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh were held on April 19 and the results were declared on June 2. The BJP registered a landslide victory as it won 46 out of 60 seats. Pema Khandu became the Chief Minister of the state.

Odisha

Elections to elect 147 members of 17th Odisha Assembly were held from May 13 to June 1 and the results were declared on June 4, 2024. The BJP got a majority by winning 78 seats. It also brought the 24-year-old rule of BJD to an end Naveen Patnaik vacated the seat of the CM to Mohan Charan Majhi of the BJP. The BJD won 51 seats.

Sikkim

The ECI organised elections to choose 32 members of the 11th Sikkim Assembly on April 19, 2024. Sikkim Krantikari Morcha won 31 seats and Prem Singh Tamang became the Chief Minister of the state. Ex-Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling-led Sikkim Democratic Front could win only one seat.

Jammu-Kashmir

Five years after the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was abolished, elections for state assembly were held from September 18 to October 1, 2024.

Also Read: 2024 Ends With Two Landmark Bills: ‘One Nation, One Election’, Waqf Amendment Set To Reshape India’s Political Landscape
The opposition bloc of INDIA, consisting of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, the Congress and the CPIM, won 49 of the 90 seats. Omar Abdullah became the Chief Minister of the state.

While the National Conference emerged as the single largest party, winning 42 seats, BJP came second with 29 seats won and the Congress won 6 seats. The CPIM got just one seat.

Haryana

Haryana Assembly Elections were held on October 5, 2024, to elect 90 members of the House. Throwing to the winds all speculations and surveys, the BJP won a majority with 48 seats. It became the first party to win the assembly elections for the third time. The Congress could win only 37 seats. Nayab Singh Saini became the

Jharkhand

Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2024 were held in three phases from November 13 to 20 to elect 81 members of the House. The opposition coalition of Mahagathbandhan won 56 seats. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha emerged as the biggest party with 34 seats, Congress won 16, RJD got 4 seat while the CPIML became victorious in two seats. The BJP won 21 seats.

Maharashtra

The Maharashtra Assembly Elections were held on November 20, 2024, to elect 288 members of the House. The ruling combination of Mahayuti won a landslide victory with 235 seats. While the BJP won 132 seats, Shiv Sena got 57 seats and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party got 41 seats. BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis became the Chief Minister while Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawat joined the cabinet as Deputy Chief Minister.

The opposition coalition of Maha Vikas Aghadi performed miserably with its constituents Shiv Sena UBT winning 20, the Congress 16 and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP 10 seats.