How INDIA bloc constituents fared in LS polls
The member parties of the alliance failed to reach a seat-sharing arrangement mainly in the states of West Bengal, Kerala, and Punjab
The Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) fielded 737 candidates for India’s 543 parliamentary constituencies (PCs) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. They won 234 PCs, although two other winners who contested as independents — Pappu Yadav in Purnia, Bihar and Vishal Prakashbapu Patil in Sangli, Maharashtra — can also be considered as part of INDIA. Before the announcement of results, 24 parties were part of the INDIA bloc. The member parties of the alliance failed to reach a seat-sharing arrangement mainly in the states of West Bengal, Kerala, and Punjab. However, smaller parties in the alliance also fielded candidates in addition to a formal agreed one in other states. INDIA had intra-alliance conflicts on 178 PCs in all, though West Bengal, Kerala, and Punjab together have just 75 PCs.
Who was the most successful in the INDIA alliance? Out of the 24 parties in the alliance, 20 were able to secure at least one seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress won the largest number at 99. The Samajwadi Party (SP), the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) were the next biggest contributors to the alliance, winning 37, 29, and 22 parliamentary constituencies (PCs) respectively. The other 16 successful parties in the alliance secured seats in single digits. The total tally of these 16 parties was 47.
To be sure, absolute number of wins may not be a completely accurate representation of the success rate of different parties in the alliance. This is because some member parties of the INDIA alliance entered into a seat-sharing pact, decreasing their potential seat tally. Strike rate — the share of contested seats won by a party — can show which party maximised their success within the alliance.
Among member parties that contested at least 10 PCs, the DMK had the highest success rate: 100%. The party won all the 22 PCs it contested. The next highest strike rates in the alliance were of the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) and the TMC. The NCP-SP won 66.7% (8) of the 12 seats it contested, and the TMC was successful in 60.4% (29) of the 48 PCs it fielded candidates in.
The Samajwadi Party was the only other constituent in the alliance with a strike rate of more than 50%, winning 37 of the 71 PCs it contested. To be sure, in Uttar Pradesh, the party’s only regional stronghold, the SP had a strike rate of 59.7%. It contested 62 PCs in the state, and all its 37 wins came from the state. The Congress, which contested the most number of seats in the alliance (328), had a strike rate of 30.2% for its tally of 99.
