New Delhi: The BJP has repeated the near improbable feat of repeating its landslide victory in north and west India with its vote share jumping over 50 per cent in many states, as the party appears set to surpass its 2014 total of 282 Lok Sabha seats in this general election. Analysts have said that the success is nothing short of a statistical wonder in Indian electoral history.
The saffron tsunami – powered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma, his planks of nationalism and development, and the BJP’s organisational heft-rolled on in the Hindi heartland has once more reaped success and even the apparently formidable SP-BSP combine has been blown away.
In reality, the BJP has bettered its show this time as its vote share in several states, including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana, is well over 50 per cent. The BJP has won or is leading in more than 300 seats across the country.
BJP president Amit Shah’s claim of achieving over 50 per cent vote share to ensure the defeat of the SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh came true as the saffron party pocketed more than 49 per cent votes, as per the latest Election Commission figures. The BJP’s tally of 71 in UP in 2014 could only be dealt a minor dent by the opposition’s alliance as the party is leading in 60 seats.
It also appeared set to repeat its stupendous show of 2014 in Rajasthan and Gujarat by leading in all 25 and 26 seats respectively and bettering its tally in Madhya Pradesh by winning or leading in 28 of its 29 seats.
The saffron party is set to almost retain its strength in Chhattisgarh by being ahead of its rivals in nine of its 11 seats.
The BJP, which sacrificed its winning seats in Bihar to forge an alliance with Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), is winning or leading in 16 of the 17 seats it fought. It had won 22 of the 31 seats it contested in Bihar in 2014.
In Maharashtra, it is set to win 23 of the 25 seats it contested. Its ally Shiv Sena contested on the remainder 23 seats and is winning as well.
In Haryana, the BJP is set to better its tally by establishing huge gains over its rivals in nine of its 10 seats. It had won seven in 2014. In Jharkhand, the BJP has won or is leading in 11 of the 13 seats it fought, garnering over 49 per cent votes.
But it is in West Bengal, that the BJP has made the mother of all gains. In 2014, it had just won in two seats, currently they are now leading in 17 of the 42 constituencies. It just goes to show, the dent they have made in Mamata Banerjee’s bastion as their vote share from a little over six per cent has climbed to over 37%.