With #KarnatakaVerdict, 69% Indians Could Now Live In BJP-Ruled States, Up From 28% In 2014
Mumbai: If the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forms the next government in Karnataka, the saffron party will govern 20 of 29 states, up from seven states as of May 24, 2014--when the party came to power at the Centre with a sweeping victory in the Lok Sabha elections.
Over two-thirds--or 836 million (69%)--of India’s 1.2 billion people will then reside under BJP state governments, up from 340 million (28.1%) in May 2014.
This will be the highest reach of the national ruling party since it was formed in 1980.
The BJP now has a government--or is part of the government--in 19 of 29 states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
As of 1.41 pm on May 15, 2018, the BJP, with a vote share of 36.5%--its highest in 33 years since the party first contested the state assembly elections in 1985--had won 20 seats and was leading in 86 of a total of 222 seats. Elections to two seats--Rajarajeshwarinagar and Jayanagar--were postponed.
The Congress recorded its highest vote-share (37.9%) since 2004. Yet, the incumbent party in the state was trailing, having won four seats and leading in 71 seats as of 1.41pm.
In last 5 assembly elections (1994 to 2013), Congress won most--132 of 222 seats contested--in 1999, followed by 122 of 224 seats in 2013; BJP’s best performance was in 2008, winning 110 of 224 seats, followed by 79 of 198 seats in 2004. #KarnatakaVerdict
— IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) May 15, 2018
Regional party Janata Dal-Secular (JDS), which is allied with the Congress in the Bengaluru municipal corporation--the richest civic body in the state--was leading in 38 seats and had won one seat as of 1.41 pm. Its vote share of 18% was lower than the party’s performance in the 2013 elections (20.2%).
Source: Election Commission of India reports *Data for 2018 as of 1.41 pm on May 15, 2018
With 35.6 million votes cast this 2018 state assembly election, Karnataka recorded its highest voter turnout ever at 72.1%, since state elections were first held here in 1952, said chief electoral officer Sanjeev Kumar on May 13, 2018.
31.3 million votes polled in 2013 elections compared to 26.1 million votes in 2008. Congress got highest vote share (36.6%) in 2013, followed by JD(S) (20.2%) and BJP 19.9%. The 3 parties accounted for 76.7% of votes polled in 2013. #KarnatakaElections
— IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) May 15, 2018
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