- BJP’s Battles and Coalition Politics
The 2024 general election results were a test of endurance for the BJP, which had hoped to get a third consecutive term. The party had set itself a targeted goal of 370+ seats following its 2019 success, which was under immense challenge because of losses in key states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra. Despite retaining strongholds in states such as Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, the decline of the BJP was stark, especially in the Hindi heartland. There are several reasons behind this, including the emergence of regional players and shifting voter loyalties in key constituencies.
The BJP’s welfare programs in direct cash transfers and subsidies earned them the support of marginalized communities but still had a formidable opponent in the form of an united regional front. This gave the lost momentum to the Indian political fragmentation, where no party gained a clear victory - Electoral Shifts in India: Congress and the INDIA Coalition
On the other hand, the Congress-led coalition INDIA, despite internal frictions and lack of a cohesive national strategy, yet came out strongly in several regions, particularly in tribal-majority areas. Coalitions with tribals: A main highlight there was its success in Jharkhand, wherein tribal communities supported the alliance led by the JMM. The INDIA coalition, however, failed to establish a unified opposition as its constituent parties could not reconcile differences in such important states as West Bengal and Punjab.
The Congress, whose internal weakness was witnessed both in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, went into the poll with the BJP having better machinery. It, however, was on the other side able to leverage the BJP’s weakness in many areas that meant the increment of Congress and regional alliance seats.
- The role of regional parties and voter segmentation:
Regional parties have played their inning in the 2024 elections. Several managed significant inroads into the national arena. Nitish Kumar and his push for the need for caste-based quotas along with welfare measures struck a chord particularly when he asked for a caste census in states like Bihar wherein OBCs form one huge chunk of the population that elects them
It threatened to end the BJP’s decades-long stranglehold over the OBC vote bank with these regional outfits posing serious challenges to the BJP’s leadership of national politics. This change in electoral preferences is an indicator of increasing fragmentation of India’s vote bank, as voters align themselves with parties that more explicitly represent their regional and community interests
- State Elections and Regional Realities
The state elections results are often seen reflecting national shifts, where local issues gained prominence. In Haryana, the Congress’ attempts at consolidating the Jat vote boomeranged into a counter-mobilization of non-Jats toward the BJP
The same was seen in Jammu and Kashmir where National Conference along with Congress, secured majority; but a clear division could still be observed between the Valley of Jammu and Kashmir as well as BJP has done remarkably well in Jammu
In Maharashtra, the Mahayuti coalition led by BJP swept to power, decisively defeating the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, which had struggled to maintain a cohesive alliance - Women’s Representation and Voter Trends
The 2024 elections saw a rise in the percentage of women representing Parliament with 74 women MPs elected, marking a modest increase over 2019. However, women still are under-represented as compared to many other countries; India still has its female representation pegged at a meager 13.63%, much below countries like South Africa at 46% and the UK at 35%.
State Elections and Regional Realities
The 2024 elections mark the growing complexities of Indian politics, whereby regional issues, coalition strategies, and voter segmentation are becoming increasingly vital. As the BJP faced quite a serious setback, INDIA, however, was not able to capitalize on it fully as it was in disarray from within. Thus, 2024 marked one of the most important steps toward the more fractured yet regionally diversified political terrain, where local factors and social identities are getting more salient