Team Blitz India
It was a mixed bag for Bharatiya Janata Party in the western states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Goa. Out of 101 seats in these states, the BJP won 49 seats. In 2019, the party’s share was 74.
In Gujarat the home state of Prime Miniter Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP again made a stunning show, winning 25 seats out of 26 seats. In the 2019 elections, it had won all the seats. This time the Congress managed to wrest the seat of Banaskhanta from the BJP. This singular loss robbed the BJP of hat-trick of clean sweeps in Gujarat.
Riding on PM Modi’s popularity, the BJP got a vote share of 62.5%, marginally up from 62.2 % in the 2019 general election. Stalwarts of the safron party put up a stellar performance, smashing electoral records on their way to wins. In Maharashtra, out of the total of 48 seats, the BJP got only 10 seats.
In the 2019 election it had won 23 seats. NDA partners Shiv Sena (Shinde) and Ajit Pawar’s NCP also underperformed winning just seven and one seats respectively. The saffron party sufered a setback in the Vidarbha regionfrom where deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hails, as its tally fell from fve seats in 2019 to just 2. The opposition-led Maha Vikas Aghadi gave a tough fght to the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, winning 29 seats.
The Lok Sabha results will have implications for the assembly polls which are six months away. In Rajasthan (25 seats), the BJP was reduced to 14 seats from 24 it got in the 2019 General Election. It’s vote share also dropped from 59.1% in 2019 to 49.2% in 2024,refecting the party’s sudden slide after a strong showing in the assembly polls. The party also lost Bharatpur, the home turf of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. The Congress, along with its INDIA bloc partners, won 11 seats.
In Goa ( 2 seats), the BJP retained its North Goa citadel with Union minister Shripad Naik retaining the seat for the sixth term with a margin of over one lakh votes. The South Goa seat went to the Congress. The Congress retained the seat once again. The BJP vote share in the state dropped from 51.9% in 2019 to 50.8%
In UT of Daman & Diu (one seat), Independent candidate Patel Umeshbhai Babubhai defeated three time BJP MP Lalubhai Babubhai Patel who polled 36298 votes. In UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, BJP’s Delkar Kalaben Mohanbhai won defeating Ajit Ramjibhai Mahala by a vote margin of 57,584.
