India election results 2024
India’s 2024 Lok Sabha elections, spanning six weeks, have concluded with surprises that defied expectations. Despite the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning 240 seats, falling short of the majority mark of 272, it secured a majority with its allies, claiming 293 seats. This contrasts starkly with the 2019 results where the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 353 seats, with the BJP alone securing 303.
The opposition INDIA alliance, led by the Indian National Congress party, secured 232 seats. This electoral landscape shift can be attributed to a series of political tremors that reshaped India’s political scenario. Al Jazeera closely tracked these surprises and upsets as they unfolded.
In Uttar Pradesh, the 2024 elections witnessed a closely contested race in Varanasi alongside the emergence of the Samajwadi Party (SP).
Uttar Pradesh (UP), a state under BJP rule since 2017, holds significant sway in Indian politics with its 80 parliamentary constituencies and a population exceeding 240 million. Notably, both Prime Minister Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi contested from different constituencies within the state.
In the 2019 elections, the NDA secured 64 seats in UP, with BJP alone clinching 62. However, the 2024 results paint a different picture. The Samajwadi Party (SP) surged, winning 37 seats, with Congress adding six more, totaling 43 for the INDIA alliance.
In a surprising turn, the BJP’s tally dropped to 33 seats, with its allies securing three. Faizabad constituency, home to the Ram temple in Ayodhya consecrated by Modi in January, saw the BJP’s defeat, despite the temple being a focal point of their campaign.
Political analyst Apoorvanand noted that the SP-Congress partnership was more effective this time, with a stronger connection between SP leader Akhilesh Yadav and Gandhi, particularly resonating with younger voters discontented with BJP policies.
The SP, traditionally backed by Muslims and the Yadav community, expanded its support base among marginalized groups. Rising unemployment and disillusionment with BJP’s Hindu nationalist rhetoric also contributed to their setback in UP.
In Varanasi, Congress candidate Ajay Rai significantly narrowed Modi’s victory margin compared to 2019, while Gandhi won Rae Bareli by a substantial margin. In Amethi, Smriti Irani, who unseated Gandhi in 2019, lost to Congress’s Kishori Lal, reflecting shifts in political dynamics across the state.
West Bengal election results 2024
West Bengal, a pivotal eastern state currently under the governance of the opposition All India Trinamool Congress party (TMC), is a crucial battleground in Indian politics. Reluctantly aligned with the INDIA alliance, TMC holds sway over the state’s 42 parliamentary seats.
In the 2019 elections, the BJP showcased significant growth compared to 2014, securing 19 seats, while TMC claimed 22 and Congress managed two.
Exit polls had initially projected a sweeping victory for the BJP in the state. However, on Tuesday, those forecasts were proven wrong. TMC emerged victorious with 29 seats, while BJP lagged behind with only 12. The Congress secured the remaining seat.
Kerala election results 2024
How the BJP crossed its ultimate frontier
The southern state, long regarded as a stronghold of leftist ideologies, posed a challenge for the BJP and its Hindu nationalist agenda.
However, this dynamic shifted in the recent elections, marking a historic moment as the BJP’s Suresh Gopi secured victory in the Thrissur constituency, becoming Kerala’s first Lok Sabha parliamentarian from the party. Despite this breakthrough, the Congress retained dominance with 14 seats in the southern state.
Analysts attribute the BJP’s success partly to its strategic alignment and collaboration with elements within the Christian communities in Kerala who hold Islamophobic views.
With Hindus comprising 55% of the state’s population and Muslims and Christians collectively making up nearly half, these minority groups wield significant electoral influence. In its bid to expand its support base, the BJP has sought to capitalize on divisions by framing Muslims as a perceived threat, critics argue.
Apoorvanand highlighted the propagation of the debunked conspiracy theory of “love jihad,” alleging that Muslim men intentionally marry women from Hindu and Christian backgrounds to facilitate their conversion to Islam. While widely discredited, this narrative, as Apoorvanand noted, originated from Kerala and has been amplified by certain segments of the Christian clergy.
UP election results 2024
The Lok Sabha Election 2024 in Uttar Pradesh, conducted across seven phases, garnered significant attention due to the state’s political significance, featuring prominent figures including the Prime Minister himself. As the results for the eighty parliamentary seats were awaited, anticipation ran high across the nation.
The outcome, announced on June 4, 2024, came as a surprise, particularly for the NDA which secured 36 seats, with the BJP alone clinching 33. On the other hand, the INDI Alliance, comprising the Samajwadi Party and Congress, emerged victorious with 43 seats. This marked a notable setback for the BJP, preventing them from attaining a majority in the Lok Sabha Election 2024.
In the 2019 general elections, the BJP had secured 63 seats out of the total 80 in Uttar Pradesh. However, this time, the SP, which had previously won only 5 seats, surged to claim 37, indicating the effectiveness of the SP-Congress alliance in the state.
Noteworthy is the defeat of seven central government ministers in their respective Lok Sabha seats to INDI Alliance candidates, including prominent figures like Smriti Irani and Mahendra Nath Pandey. Prime Minister Modi retained his seat in Varanasi, albeit with a reduced margin compared to 2019.
The BJP’s setback in Faizabad (Ayodhya) constituency despite the Ram Mandir inauguration earlier in 2024 raises questions about the electoral impact of such events. However, Arun Govil, known for portraying Lord Rama in the iconic TV show Ramayana, secured victory from the Meerut Lok Sabha seat.
The election results prompt introspection within the BJP while spurring the INDI Alliance to enhance their strategies for future electoral battles, including the upcoming vidhan sabha elections. Below is a breakdown of the seat distribution among NDA, INDI Alliance, and other parties across all eighty parliamentary seats of Uttar Pradesh.
