Despite the exit polls projecting a clean sweep for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, the alliance took a considerable hit as the results came out on Tuesday.
In the final Lok Sabha election results announced by the Election Commission, the BJP witnessed substantial losses. Of the 303 seats it won in 2019, it retained 208, lost 92, and allocated three to its allies — Janata Dal (United), Janata Dal (Secular), and Rashtriya Lok Dal — who each won a seat. The BJP gained 32 new seats in 2024, bringing its tally to 240.
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BJP Lok Sabha elections results: State-wise analysis
Uttar Pradesh, a crucial battleground state for the BJP, saw the party losing 29 seats, marking its most significant setback. This loss is particularly impactful given Uttar Pradesh’s political influence and the number of parliamentary seats it holds. The party won 62 seats in the 2019 polls.
In Maharashtra and Rajasthan, the BJP faced severe setbacks, losing 16 and 10 seats, respectively. These losses have been pivotal in reducing the party’s overall tally. Karnataka and West Bengal were also major areas of concern, with the party losing 8 seats in each state.
The BJP’s performance was halved in Haryana, where it lost 5 seats. In Bihar, the party faced defeat in another 5 constituencies. Additional losses included 3 seats in Jharkhand, 2 in Punjab, and one each in Assam, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Gujarat, Ladakh, and Manipur.
The BJP’s defeat extended to constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). Of the 92 seats lost, 29 were reserved for SCs and STs, showcasing a significant decline in support from these communities.
The losses were evenly distributed between General Category seats and reserved categories: 63 were General Category, 18 were reserved for SCs, and 11 for STs. This indicates a widespread decline in support across different voter demographics. These seats were mostly in rural areas but included urban seats like Mumbai North Central and Mumbai North East, where Congress and its allies defeated the BJP.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) won 25 seats against the BJP, all of which were in Uttar Pradesh. The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) in Bengal and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP) in Maharashtra secured 8 and 5 seats, respectively.
Other parties that won in these 92 seats against the BJP included the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharat Adivasi Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) – CPI(ML)(L), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar, Rashtriya Janata Dal, and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
In 2019, 77 of the BJP’s 303 seats were reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Of these, the BJP and its allies managed to retain only 48 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with the remaining 29 seats being won by opposition parties.
While the BJP took a massive hit in these 92 seats, it won 32 new constituencies across 11 states and Union Territories, increasing its overall tally to 240. Of these 32 new seats, the highest number, 12, came from Odisha, followed by 4 from Telangana, 3 each from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, 2 from West Bengal, and 1 each from Bihar, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Chhattisgarh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala. Of these 32 seats, only 3 were reserved for Scheduled Castes and 5 for Scheduled Tribes.