Assembly election results 2023: BJP secures trifecta in Hindi heartland; Telangana to get its first non-BRS govt. Top 10
BJP marked a three-pronged victory in key states in the country's heartland, while the Congress gained its second win in the south.
The results of the assembly elections in four out of five states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana – filled the Sunday with thrill. The spirited poll battle in the Hindi heartland resulted in the Bharatiya Janata Party wresting power from the incumbent Congress in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, while it retained Madhya Pradesh in a landslide. Meanwhile, the Congress is set to form the first-ever non-BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) government in Telangana.
Also read: On BJP's Rajasthan election win, PM Modi broke this rule reaction
The poll results are believed to set the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP aims to return for a third term in the Centre and the Opposition-led INDIA bloc lines up to redirect the drift against the saffron party.
"Today's victory is historic, it is unprecedented," PM Modi said commemorating the BJP's win in the three states. "I bow to the people for their support. It is for our politics of good governance and developed India."
- By winning 115 out of 199 seats in Rajasthan, the BJP managed to continue the decades-long revolving-door trend in the state in which the voters boot out the party in power, giving way to the opposition. Outgoing chief minister Ashok Gehlot “humbly accepted” the defeat saying this is “an unexpected result”. Former CM Vasundhara Raje retained her Jhalrapatan assembly constituency.
- The BJP's victory led PM Modi to express confidence in the prophecy of a ‘hat-trick’ in the Lok Sabha polls followed by a three-pronged victory in state elections.
- In Madhya Pradesh, after ruling for more than a decade, the BJP staved off the anti-incumbency row with a fillip for chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as well as crashing the hopes of a resurgent Congress helmed by veteran Kamal Nath.
- In Chhattisgarh, the BJP comfortably took the baton over from the Congress. The right-wing party fared better than largely expected as opinion and exit polls had suggested a close contest between Modi's party and Congress.
- The election results proved a ‘disappointment’ for Congress despite marking its second victory in the south this year. The grand old party won 64 seats in the 119-member Telangana assembly, making way to form the first-ever non-BRS government in the state.
- While state election results are not a proxy for the Lok Sabha polls, experts believe a weaker performance by the BJP would have provided momentum to the Opposition.
- Following the latest poll results, the BJP is now set to hold power in 12 states without being part of a coalition, whereas, the number of states where Congress would hold power has come down to three.
- The election results also made the fairly new political party AAP the second-biggest opposition party in the country with its government in two states.
- All three states were believed to have been won by the BJP due to PM Modi's popularity. Whereas, the matter related to the potential CM faces in these states remains unresolved.
- The counting of votes for the fifth state Mizoram will be done on Monday. All the five states constitute a total of 84 Lok Sabha seats.