The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance eked out a muted victory in the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday — a sharp deviation from exit polls predicting a landslide win. The saffron party is likely to secure 240 seats while NDA allies secures another 51 seats. Some poll analysts including activist Yogendra Yadav had however predicted such an outcome last week.
“I’ve been saying all along that BJP won’t cross 272, is around 250 and can even fall below 230…As for NDA partners, let’s not forget that half of their tally (about 20) may be from parties like TDP who have no enduring relationship with the BJP beyond this election. Interesting times indeed!” the Swaraj India founder told Shashi Tharoor recently.
Yadav shared his final assessment a week before the counting of votes and took a ‘last push’ of anti-BJP votes during the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls into account.
“As per the current political situation, the BJP is getting less than 250 seats. And if there is last push (anti-BJP votes) from UP and Bihar during the final phase, and I see the possibility thereof, then NDA may not even get a majority. This will give a possibility of INDIA bloc getting more seats than NDA,” he had opined.
Data shared by the Election Commission indicates that the BJP will win 240 seats on its own while its allies secure around 51 seats. The numbers are a far cry from the 303 seats the BJP had managed to secure on its own during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP will now have to rely on alliance partners to form the government and come to power.
Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu — both of whom recently re-joined the NDA — have now emerged as kingmakers. Speculative reports suggest the Opposition INDIA bloc has also reached out to woo the two politicians.
(With inputs from agencies)
