BJP bags MP, Raj, Chhattisgarh

The BJP swept Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh on Sunday inflicting a resounding defeat on the Congress to tighten its stranglehold in the Hindi heartland, in a big boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and setting the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In some consolation for the Congress in the face of the saffron wave after it lost Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the party ousted the Bharat Rashtra Samiti(BRS) in Telangana to make it 3-1 for the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) in the latest round of Assembly elections billed as a semi-final before next year’s poll showdown. Counting of votes in Mizoram will be taken up on Monday.
As the BJP leadership savoured the triple victory just months after losing its lone southern citadel Karnataka, Prime Minister Modi said some people are already saying that the party’s hat-trick in the states is a guarantee of hat-trick in the Lok Sabha polls.
Ruling MP for 18 years, a well entrenched BJP managed to stave off anti-incumbency in a shot in the arm for four-time chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and dashing the hopes of a resurgent Congress helmed by veteran and former CM Kamal Nath.
Winning 141 seats and leading in 24, the BJP got a simple majority and could get two-thirds majority in a House of 230. Congress bagged 45 and was leading in 19.
Suspense also mounted as to who will be the BJP’s chief minister in any of the three Hindi heartland states.
Clouds of gulal, shouts of Jai Shri Ram, joyful jigs and crackers were the sights and sounds of celebration in BJP offices with party workers and leaders unanimous in attributing the win to Modi’s “guarantees”.
With BJP dislodging the Congress hit by factionalism in Rajasthan, the desert state stuck to a nearly 30-year-old ‘rivaz’ (tradition) of not voting an incumbent party back to power. The BJP got a majority bagging 115 seats after voting was held for 199 constituencies. The Congress notched 69 seats
The Chhattisgarh outcome was a surprise for many Congress leaders who were hoping for another stint in power in the state by fending off the BJP challenge.
The day began with both parties neck and neck but, as counting continued, the BJP consolidated its lead and won or was ahead in 54 seats. The Congress won or was ahead in 35 seats in the 90-member house.
The BJP amplified its pitch around the prime minister during the Assembly polls as its manifestoes featured his guarantees, with Modi crisscrossing the poll-bound states, except for Mizoram, to seek popular support to deliver on his welfare and development promises.
Modi addressed 14 rallies each in Rajasthan and MP and five in Chhattisgarh after the polls were announced. He held two massive roadshows in Rajasthan and one in MP and his entries in many of rally venues were marked by a drive through cheering supporters.
The extent of the party’s win in Chhattisgarh and MP has taken even some of its leaders by surprise, as most exit polls gave the Congress an edge in the former and were mixed in their forecast for the latter.