New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s victory in three out of four major states is seen as a big boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the 2024 general elections. The central states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and the southern state of Telangana, voted last month in the last set of provincial elections before the national poll, in which Modi will seek a third term.
BJP comfortably won Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the main opposition Congress and retained Madhya Pradesh, vote-counting data from the Election Commission of India showed.
As per the ECI website, BJP has won 163 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 115 seats in Rajasthan and 54 seats in Chattisgarh.
BJP’s performance was better than widely expected as opinion and exit polls had suggested a close contest between Modi’s party and Congress.
The results have reiterated that PM Modi remains widely popular after a decade in power and surveys suggest he will win again next year.
On the other hand a 28-party opposition alliance (I.N.D.I.A.) led by the Congress has come together to jointly fight the BJP, posing a renewed challenge. But the alliance did not feature in the state polls due to internal rivalries and it was a direct contest between BJP and Congress. So in order to fight BJP’s well-oiled Election-Machinery in the 2024 polls, the INDI alliance have to shed their internal rivalries and personal ambitions.
Although Congress won Telangana, its second victory in the south this year, it has lost in 3 major states which are home to more than 160 million voters and account for 82 seats in the 543-member parliament.