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Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: 5 crucial things that helped INDIA bloc hold NDA under 300 seats
Election Results 2024: In 2019, the BJP had won 303 seats on its own while the NDA got 353 seats. The UPA, then led by the Congress party, had won just 91 seats. Clearly, the opposition has improved its performance and belied all exit poll predictions.
The INDIA bloc may end up falling short of the magic number of 272 Lok Sabha seats to form the government at the centre. However, the resurgent opposition has undeniably emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the country's political landscape.
At 6 pm, the trends suggested that the INDIA bloc was leading in 233 seats, with the Congress leading in 98 seats, almost double what it got last time. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was leading in 292 seats.
In 2019, the BJP had won 303 seats on its own, while the NDA got 353 seats. The UPA, then led by the Congress party, had won just 91 seats. Clearly, the opposition has improved its performance and belied all exit poll predictions.
Here is a list of five crucial things that worked for the INDIA bloc in keeping the NDA under 300 seats:
The anti-incumbency against PM Modi
Narendra Modi is all set to become the only Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to serve three straight terms in office. Though exit polls had suggested a smooth win for the BJP-led alliance, that didn't happen. Perhaps, there was anti-incumbency against Narendra Modi, who became the Prime Minister in 2014.
Analysts say that the BJP and its top leaders were wary of the anti-incumbency. That is why Modi unleashed a shrill campaign targeting Opposition. Modi even went on to claim that his predecessor, Manmohan Singh, had advocated allocating the nation's resources to Muslims.
“From a campaign focused on Viksit Bharat to Hindu-Muslim laced speeches, PM Modi's campaign clearly indicated that the BJP wanted to polarise the elections,” said an analyst who did not want to be named.
The Opposition could capitalise on this narrative and make the most of it, he said.
UP Ke Ladke Clicks
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had come together in the 2017 UP elections. But it didn't work then. The duo, however, joined hands and contested the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 as part of the INDIA bloc.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: 5 factors that didn't work for PM Modi and BJP this time around
As the results keep coming in, the INDIA bloc is leading in 43 seats while the BJP is ahead in 35 seats in UP. In 2019, the BJP had won 62 of the 80 seats in the state. Clearly, the coming together of the UP ke ladke has paid off this time.
Trusting Prominent Faces
In this election, the Congress chose to field prominent candidates. Rahul Gandhi contested the election in two seats-Wayanad and Raebareli- and is winning both.
Even in Punjab, where the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are on course to win 10 of the 13 seats, the grand old party fielded its key leaders, including former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, state party chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, and former deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. All the three candidates are leading from their seats after a high-decibel campaign in the run-up to the election results.
Priyanka Gandhi Factor
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was more visible in this election. Like her brother Rahul Gandhi, she responded to Modi's jibes with powerful speeches. In one of her addresses, she even revived the painful memories of her father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991.
Also Read: UP Elections Results 2024: ‘UP ke ladke’ trends on X as Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav shine.
Priyanka camped in Raebareli and campaigned for her brother, Rahul Gandhi, and KL Sharma, the Gandhi family aide who defeated Union Minister and sitting MP Smriti Irani from Amethi.
A United Face
In addition to everything else, the unity among the opposition parties in the INDIA bloc helped them put up a strong fight against the ruling NDA.
The best part was that some of the rival parties in the states decided to fight collectively. In Punjab, AAP and Congress, who contested jointly in Delhi, fought separately in Punjab, ended up winning 10 of the 13 seats between them.
The INDIA bloc is an amalgamation of about 28 parties that met for the first time in June last year and decided to take on Modi-led BJP in general elections.
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Business NewsElectionsLok Sabha Election Results 2024: 5 crucial things that helped INDIA bloc hold NDA under 300 seats
First Published:4 Jun 2024, 07:03 PM IST
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