New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP has crossed the halfway mark on its own steam and leads showed a NDA sweep in the national elections within two hours of counting of votes. The BJP is doing well in most states, including the three heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, wrested by the Congress in December. It is also ahead in Karnataka – a state the Congress rules jointly with HD Kumaraswamy. The Congress is ahead in Punjab and Tamil Nadu, where it joined hands with the DMK. Elections were held on 542 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats and a party or alliance needs 272 seats to form government.
Over the last five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been credited with trying to tighten the administration, a strong foreign policy and high-profile campaigns like Swachh Bharat and make-in-India. But he has been attacked by the opposition over a slowing economy, failure to create jobs, a farm sector crisis and rising hate crimes by right-wing fringe groups. Buoyed by the exit poll estimates, the BJP has prepped a blueprint for its next term, built around the three themes of nationalism, national security and development.
Among the states, the BJP is ahead in Gujarat, Delhi, Bihar and Maharashtra. It is also ahead in the three heartland states won by the Congress less than six months ago – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
The Congress is ahead in Punjab, where exit polls predicted good showing by the party. It is also ahead in Tamil Nadu, where it is partnering the DMK led by MK Stalin.
In Uttar Pradesh, which sends the largest number of lawmakers to the Lok Sabha, the BJP has established a huge lead over the Mayawati-Akhilesh Yadav alliance. A good performance in the state is considered absolutely essential for any party or alliance hoping to rule at the Centre.
The Congress, which won three of the heartland states in December in a round of assembly polls seen as the semi-finals before the national elections, is going solo in most states. Rahul Gandhi, who said he wants to play on the front foot, has inducted sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra into active politics and placed her in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, where PM Modi’s constituency Varanasi and Gorakhpur, the stronghold of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, is located.
