Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set for a historic third term though BJP failed to get absolute majority. For the first time he has to lead a coalition government along with NDA partners.
The 2024 national election results defied exit poll predictions on Tuesday to humble the ruling BJP, which emerged as the single largest party but fell significantly short of a simple majority — 272 — in the 543-member Lok Sabha, heralding the return of the coalition era.
At midnight, the BJP had either won or was leading in 240 seats (32 short of a majority) while the ruling NDA was at 293 (it had crossed the 272 majority victory mark). However, the performance of the NDA was below the much-touted Prime Minister’s “400 paar” claims.
The Opposition alliance has reversed all exit poll predictions, winning 234 seats. Mostly in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Maharasthra BJP suffered huge losses. However, its gains in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana practically saved Modi’s government.
The mandate signifies a shift in the dominance of single-party rule and 230 seats. The results brings back old days of coalition politics. With the TDP pledging support to the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the verdict “historic” and a “victory of the world’s largest democracy”, even as he signalled preparations to stake claim to form the government for the third straight term.
Winning from Varanasi, Narendra Modi equallad Jawaharlal Nehru’s record as prime minister for a third consecutive term but this time with far reduced numbers as his BJP took a knocking in Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party trumped it.
“This is the first time since 1962 that an incumbent government has been repeated for a third time,” Modi said as stunning losses in the Hindi heartland states of UP, Rajasthan and Haryana took the sheen off his day and he won on Tuesday but not quite. The opposition INDIA bloc on the other hand posted unexpected gains, clocking 234 seats. The PM flagged the Opposition tally to boost the morale of the party cadres and said, “Even after they came together, the opposition parties could not win the number of seats the BJP won on its own.”
In UP, INDIA ally Samajwadi Party, led by former state Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, surfaced as the single largest party and won or was leading in 37 of the state’s 80 segments as against the BJP’s 33. The Congress also posted gains — six leads against just one win (Rae Bareli) in 2019. Nationally, the Congress was at 99 leads late on Tuesday night, improving over its dismal 2014 and 2019 tallies of 44 and 52 LS seats, respectively.
The party will finally get recognition for the Leader of the Opposition position in the Lok Sabha for which it needs 10 per cent strength of the House. The BJP for its part lost 29 seats in India’s largest state UP having won 62 in the state in 2019 and 71 in 2014.
