Modi's BJP loses majority in poll shock, needs allies for govt

New Delhi, NT Bureau: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on course to lose its national majority after suffering major losses in key states, marking a dramatic shift in a political landscape it has dominated for the past decade.

The BJP is on track to comfortably emerge as the country’s single-largest party in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. But as election officials declared leads and results from India’s six-week-long election on Tuesday, it became apparent that the BJP would struggle to repeat its performances from 2014 and 2019.

Our Constitution is our guiding light. I want to assure that the Centre will work with all states, irrespective of the party in power there, to work towards our resolve to make India a developed country —Narendra Modi

Unlike both those elections, when the BJP won clear majorities on its own in a house of 543 seats, its leads and wins were hovering around 240 constituencies through much of the day.

The halfway mark is 272 seats. By contrast, the opposition INDIA alliance, led by the Congress party, was projected to win more than 200 seats, suggesting a far closer contest than exit polls had predicted.

Released on June 1 after the final phase of India’s election cycle, the exit polls had suggested that the BJP would outdo its 2019 tally of 303 seats.

The new kingmakers

With the BJP falling short of a majority in the Lok Sabha and needing the NDA allies to form the government at the Centre, Bihar Chief Minister and JD (U) head Nitish Kumar and TDP's N Chandrababu Naidu have emerged as potential kingmakers.

While Kumar's party was leading or had won 12 seats, the TDP was leading or had won 16 Lok Sabha seats, according to the latest election commission data.

Today the poor, women, Dalits, Adivasis and oppressed people saved the Constitution of India —Rahul Gandhi

The NDA was stirred into life mostly around elections in the last 10 years as the BJP's big majority and shrinking opposition in Lok Sabha made its allies mostly redundant but with the saffron party expected to win about 240 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha this time around, allies will matter more than ever.

Naidu's TDP also put up a good show in the Lok Sabha polls, leading or winning in 16 of the total 25 seats in the state, with allies BJP and Janasena Party ahead in three and two constituencies respectively.

In the process, Naidu also emerged as a possible kingmaker with the TDP becoming the second largest party in the ruling NDA alliance after the BJP.

'Embarrassing' losses

BJP loses Ayodhya

Despite the Ram Mandir inauguration, BJP candidate Lallu Singh lost against Samajwadi Party’s Awadesh Prasad by a margin of 54,567 in Faizabad where Ayodhya is located.

Adhir Chowdhury defeated

Congress' Adhir Chowdhury was beaten by 85,022 votes by TMC leader and former cricketer Yusuf Pathan in the Baharampur constituency in West Bengal.

DK Suresh loses

BJP candidate Dr CN Manjunath proved to be a giant killer as he defeated incumbent Congress MP DK Suresh by a massive margin of 2,69,647 votes in Bengaluru Rural.

Smriti Irani beaten

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi by 55,000 votes in Amethi. In 2024 Kishori Lal of Congress defeated the BJP candidate Smriti Irani in Amethi by 1,67,196 votes.