Resounding Victory For BJP In Four States; AAP Clean Sweeps Punjab

In what was dubbed as the semi-final for the 2024 General Elections, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday recorded a massive victory in four of the five states which went to polling. However, the success in Uttar Pradesh makes the electoral performance more significant and historical for the BJP.

Uttar Pradesh

At the time of writing, the BJP was leading on 253 states in Uttar Pradesh, as per data from the Election Commission of India (ECI), way ahead of the 202-majority mark in the state’s 403 seat assembly. The BJP received a massive vote share of more than 41 per cent, which is up from their last performance in 2017 when they received 39.67 per cent vote share. The two allies for the party in the state, Apna Dal (Soneylal) and Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal (NISHAD), were leading on 11 and 7 seats, respectively.

On the other hand, the principal opposition, the Samajwadi Party (SP), led by former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav, was leading on 116 seats. SP’s alliance partner, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), was leading on seven seats. The SP increased its vote share by nearly 10 per cent from the previous election and, as per data, received a 31.87% vote share, the highest for the party in their electoral history in the state.

Among the state’s heavyweights, incumbent CM Yogi Adityanath won from the Gorakhpur Urban constituency with a one lakh vote margin. However, Adityanath’s deputy, Keshav Prasad Maurya, was trailing from the Sirathu constituency at the time of writing. Akhilesh Yadav was also leading from the Karhal constituency with more than 60,415 votes.

Source: ECI

Punjab

After Uttar Pradesh, Punjab grabbed eyeballs as the Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) registered a clean sweep in the state. At 5 pm, the AAP was ahead on 92 seats in the 117 members assembly, way above the majority mark of 59. The incumbent Congress was a distant second at 18 seats. AAP registered a vote share of 42.04 per cent compared to the 22.96 per cent vote share of Congress.

"The oath-taking ceremony will not be held at Raj Bhawan but at Khatkarkalan. The date will be announced later," Mann said, addressing party workers and supporters at Dhuri after the victory.

He also said that no government office will carry photograph of the chief minister. Instead, photos of Bhagat Singh and Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar will be put on walls in government offices.

Bhagwant Mann won from the Dhuri constituency by more than 58,000 votes.

Heavyweights in state politics, including incumbent CM Charanjit Singh Channi, Captain Amrinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal, all lost from their seats. While Sukhbir Singh Badal was trailing by nearly 30,000 votes from the Jalalabad constituency.

Source: ECI

Uttarakhand

The BJP recorded a comprehensive victory in Uttarakhand in what was looking like a close battle in early trends in the morning. The BJP was ahead on 47 seats in 70 members assembly, comfortably crossing the majority mark of 36. However, incumbent CM Pushkar Singh Dhami couldn’t secure a win from his Khatima constituency and lost by nearly 6,500 votes to Congress’ Bhuwan Chandra Kapri. The BJP received nearly 44 per cent of the votes, which is a slight decline from their 46.5 per cent vote share in 2017.

The Congress was leading on 19 seats registering a vote share of 37.97 per cent up from their 2017 performance when they got 33.5 per cent of the votes. Congress veteran and former CM Harish Rawat also lost from his constituency of Lalkuwa to BJP’s Mohan Singh Bisht by 16,600 votes.

Source: ECI

Goa

The BJP in Goa was leading at 20 seats, one short of the majority mark in the 40 members assembly. Congress was leading at 11 seats, and the AAP opened its account in the state for the first time and was leading on two seats.

A senior BJP leader said that the BJP would meet Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai and stake claim to form the government on Thursday evening. The BJP has said that three independents, who are currently leading in their respective constituencies, are in touch with the party.

“Dr Chandrakant Shetye, the independent candidate who won from Bicholim Assembly constituency, met Chief Minister Pramod Sawant after the announcement of his victory,” the party leader said.

 Source: ECI

Manipur

Trends were in for 57/60 seats in Manipur, and the BJP was leading on 30 seats. The National People's Party (NPP) was ahead on seven seats and the Congress on 4. Other parties and independents were leading on 17 seats.

State heavyweights N Biren Singh, Congress' Okram Ibobi Singh and K Meghachandra Singh, had all won their seats at the time of writing.

Source: ECI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the party's headquarters in Delhi on Thursday evening to congratulate the party on its victory in the Assembly elections. Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President J.P. Nadda, and several other prominent leaders are also expected to be present at the party headquarters.