Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a third term in power on June 4, but he will be dependent on allies as the BJP fell almost 32 short of the halfway mark of 272 seats in the Lok Sabha. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 291 seats against the Congress-led INDIA bloc’s 234 seats. The Congress won 99 seats compared to 52 in 2019.
The BJP faced setbacks in strongholds and ended up with lower tallies in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, while its southern foray yielded only marginal returns. Its hopes of expanding in West Bengal were dashed. However, Odisha went according to the BJP’s script where it rose to power for the first time and posted wins in 19 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats.
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The Congress’s unprecedented outreach to OBC voters in alliance with the Samajwadi Party paid rich dividends in Uttar Pradesh, where the alliance won 44 seats, bringing the BJP tally down to 35 from its earlier tally of 62 seats in 2019, in the battleground State. In Bihar, the Congress-RJD alliance on the same plank failed to enthuse the voters and the NDA alliance held its own.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed BJP workers and leaders at the party headquarters in New Delhi late evening asserting that a third term to the NDA was historic. He heaped praise on the Election Commission (EC) for having successfully concluded the world’s biggest exercise of franchise, and also acknowledged the role of women voters in these polls for their larger turnout, terming himself of having been “blessed” with their support. In an acknowledgement of the new realities of the NDA government’s dependence on the support of two allies, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal (United), he said: “In Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, under Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Babu [Nitish Kumar], the NDA has had a stellar performance.”
He also noted that the year would mark 75 years of the framing of the Indian Constitution, stating “our Constitution is our guiding light. We will work hard for the development of our nation. This is the time to move forward in unity for the bright future of the country.”
Stating that the year would also see the 350th birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, he appeared to extend an olive branch to erstwhile ally Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) without naming anyone. He also reiterated his government’s commitment to the welfare of SC/ST community, an important statement given the fact that much of the poll campaign saw BJP leaders reassert their commitment to upholding reservations.
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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who led his party’s campaign along with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, asserted that the country had unanimously stated that it doesn’t want Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah “to be involved in the running of this country”.
He said the people of the country, especially those from Uttar Pradesh, took the first step in protecting the Constitution. Asked which of the two seats — Wayanad in Kerala and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh — he would retain after having won both, Mr. Gandhi indicated he would take time to make that decision.
Tuesday’s results have comprehensively brought coalitions back at the centre of national politics after a gap of a decade, and a robust opposition in Parliament, with the Congress now entitled to the official Leader of the Opposition post (Cabinet rank) for the first time since 2014.
The nature of the verdict points to a situation where the BJP, while dominating in numbers over the NDA, will have to pursue a more consensual approach as the numbers secured by its allies are what have pushed the alliance above the half-way mark in the Lok Sabha. A meeting of the NDA has been scheduled for Wednesday, with the two biggest NDA allies, TDP and JD(U), having confirmed their attendance.
The INDIA bloc of parties will also be having their meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Published - June 04, 2024 11:12 pm IST
