Politics

BJP Sweeps Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday won assembly election in three out of four major states, in a big boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of a national election due by May.

The central states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and the southern state of Telangana, voted last month in the last set of assembly elections before the national poll, in which PM Narendra Modi will seek a third term.

BJP comfortably won Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the main opposition Congress and retained Madhya Pradesh with huge majority.

BJP's performance was better than widely expected as opinion and exit polls had suggested a close contest between Modi's party and Congress.

Modi remains widely popular after a decade in power and surveys suggest he will win again next year. However, a 28-party opposition alliance 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.

Although Congress won Telangana, its second victory in the south this year, Sunday's outcome is seen as a setback. The four states are home to more than 160 million voters and account for 82 seats in the 543-member parliament.

“We always said we will win the heartland states,” BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda told Reuters. “The results are the outcome of our finest political strategy and work on the ground.”

Modi told jubilant BJP members at the party headquarters the results suggested a third term next year was guaranteed.

“The results … indicate that the people of India are firmly with politics of good governance and development, which the BJP stands for,” Modi posted on X.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the party should not get “disheartened by this defeat” and should start preparing for the general elections with INDIA parties with “double enthusiasm”.

 

If you like this story then please support us by a contributing a small amount you are comfortable with.