The Lok Sabha election results in Kashmir have sprung a few surprises with the BJP-led NDA appearing to have failed to retain seats in the Lok Sabha election. The I.N.D.I Alliance has made notable progress with the Congress-led bloc projected to secure over 200 seats nationwide. Contrary to exit poll predictions, the BJP has been reduced to 240 seats, a significant decline from their 2019 performance.
As the counting for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections continues, the fate of the NDA and INDIA alliance remains uncertain. Here are the biggest surprises of the Lok Sabha elections so far……
Congress total tally: The Congress has largely been successful in regaining its vote winning 38 seats while leading in 61 seats, according to the latest figure of the election commission. The figure is surprising as the party secured only 52 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In states like Rajasthan and Gujarat, where the BJP achieved a clean sweep in 2019, the Congress is poised for a dramatic comeback.
BJP opening account in Kerala: The Bharatiya Janata Party has opened its account in Kerala in Lok Sabha elections for the first time with actor-politician Suresh Gopi winning from the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat by more than 72,000 votes. But it is the Congress that has performed impressively in the southern state, with leading and winning in 13 of the 20 seats. The CPM is leading in two seats and the IUML in two.
Smriti Irani trails in Amethi: In a big upset for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, Gandhi family loyalist and prominent Congress worker Kishori Lal Sharma turned out to be the giant slayer as he was leading against Union minister Smriti Irani from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh by a huge margin of 167,196 votes (when the story is published).
Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti concede defeat: Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti faced surprising defeats by lesser-known candidates in the recent elections. Mufti lost the Anantnag-Rajouri seat to Gujjar leader and National Conference candidate Mian Altaf Ahmad by a substantial margin. In Baramulla, Abdullah was defeated by former MLA and terror financing accused Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid.
10 lakh winning margin for Indore BJP candidate: BJP’s Shankar Lalwani on Tuesday won the Indore Lok Sabha seat by a margin of over 10 lakh votes beating its nearest ‘rival’ NOTA (none of the above), which registered 2,18,674 votes, probably creating a record for the option. While Lalwani, who is the sitting MP from Indore, polled 12,26,751 votes, NOTA registered 2,18,674 votes, and Bahujan Samaj Party’s Sanjay stood in third place with 51,659 votes.
BJP loses Ayodhya-Ram Mandir constituency: BJP candidate Lallu Singh lost Faizabad Lok Sabha seat which includes Ayodhya where a grand Ram Temple was opened for the public earlier this year. Singh, a three-time MP from Faizabad, was facing SP candidate Awadesh Prasad. Ayodhya, which houses the Ram Temple, falls under Faizabad seat, one of the 80 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh. In January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya – an event which many saw would fetch electoral benefits to the BJP.
Annamalai defeat: BJP candidate ex-IPS officer K Annamalai was fielded from the Coimbatore seat as the party hoped to make inroads in Tamil Nadu. However, trends showed Annamalai is trailing by over 89,126 votes behind DMK candidate Ganapthy Rajkumar P.
Congress opening account Gujarat after 10 years: In a boost for Congress, party’s candidate Geniben Thakor won Gujarat’s Banaskantha Lok Sabha seat on Tuesday defeating Rekha Chaudhary of Bharatiya Janata Party by 30,000 votes.
Rise of SP in UP: Akhilesh Yadav’s stock rose dramatically on Tuesday with his Samajwadi Party cutting the ruling BJP down to size in Uttar Pradesh. As the trends came in, the SP was leading on 37 seats as against the BJP’s 33 seats. The tally is a spoiler for the BJP which had claimed it will sweep the state from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an MP. From winning five seats in the last election in partnership with the BSP, Akhilesh’s party in UP has dealt a body-blow to the BJP, which had in 2019 won 62 seats on its own.
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