Jaipur: BJP workers and supporters celebrates the party's lead during counting of votes for the Rajasthan Assembly elections, in Jaipur on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. (Photo: IANS/Ravishankar Vyas)
New Delhi, December 3 (MExN): In the four Assembly elections, considered by many observers as a semi-final to the 2024 general election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asserted its dominance with wins in three crucial states.
The main contender, Congress, had to console itself with one victory in the South.
Significantly, the BJP wrested power from the incumbent Congress in two key Hindi heartland states – Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan – while overcoming any anti-incumbency sentiment in Madhya Pradesh and returning with a bigger margin.
With the losses in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, the Congress presence in the Hindi heartland ahead of the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections now exists only in Himachal Pradesh, according to the IANS news agency.
The party's only consolation on December 3 was storming to power in India's youngest state, capitalising on anti-incumbency against the KCR-led BRS government.
Congress secured a clear majority in the 119-member Assembly and staked a claim to form the government by the evening.
According to official information available from the Election Commission of India on Sunday evening, in Chhattisgarh, the BJP had won 54 seats out of 90, while the Congress tally fell to 35. The remaining seat went to the Gondvana Gantantra Party.
In the 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP was poised to win 163 seats against 66 for Congress. The Bharat Adivasi Party secured one seat.
Out of the 199 Assembly Constituencies in Rajasthan, BJP won 115, while Congress was a distant second at 69. The remaining seats went to other parties, including 8 Independents.
In Telangana, Congress won 64 out of 119 seats, upstaging the contest with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, which secured just 39 seats. BJP won 8 seats. All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen(AIMIM) secured 7, while the Communist Party of India( CPI) took 1 seat.
