New Delhi: In a deviation from the sweeping mandates of 2014 and 2019, when the BJP garnered 282 and 303 seats respectively, achieving a majority on its own, this time around, the unseating of BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda and Ajay Mishra Teni in the Hindi heartland, have left the BJP with no choice but to lean on its NDA partners to form the government.
Notably, the Election Commission of India has declared the results for 542 out of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies so far. The BJP has secured 240 seats, while the Indian National Congress trails with 99.
One of the most high-profile defeats was that of Smriti Irani in Amethi. She had defeated Rahul Gandhi in 2019 but lost to Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma by a margin of 1,67,196 votes.
Ajay Mishra Teni, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, embroiled in the controversial Lakhimpur Kheri incident, was defeated by the Samajwadi Party’s Utkarsh Verma by over 34,329 votes.
Arjun Munda, the Union Tribal Affairs Minister faced a crushing defeat in Jharkhand’s Khunti constituency, losing to Congress candidate Kalicharan Munda by 1,49,675 votes.
