2024 In Indian Politics: Huge Surprises And Main Setbacks | 12 months-ender – News18
Final Up to date:
The BJP scripted historical past by returning to energy for a 3rd straight time period, however its tally rested at 240 seats—32 wanting the bulk mark of 272—after comfortably crossing the magic determine again to again in 2014 and 2019
Six states went to polls this yr. The BJP and its allies gained 4, whereas the opposition INDIA bloc managed to win Jammu & Kashmir and retain Jharkhand. (PTI Pictures)
The yr 2024 in Indian politics was a rollercoaster journey for leaders and their events. The large ballot season started with chatter across the ruling Bharatiya Janata Social gathering (BJP)’s “abki baar 400 paar” slogan, following its landslide victories in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh meeting polls final winter. BJP supporters had been additionally infused with new power after the opening of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya in January this yr, a watershed that introduced a motion spanning over a century to an finish.
However it was the opposition that was buoyed after the 2024 election outcomes. The BJP scripted historical past by returning to energy for a 3rd straight time period, however its tally rested at 240 seats—32 wanting the bulk mark of 272—after comfortably crossing the magic determine again to again in 2014 and 2019. It wanted the assistance of allies to kind authorities on the Centre. Later, a bit of analysts would stress how vital the BJP’s victory was in a yr when incumbent governments collapsed internationally—from the US to the UK.
Even then, the BJP’s Lok Sabha displaying was method off what most pollsters had predicted, bringing smiles to a united opposition bloc. The Congress doubled its 2019 tally, ended up with 99 seats and proclaimed “ethical victory”, an assertion known as out by its critics who requested what it was celebrating. Nonetheless, these celebrations had been ephemeral. The BJP managed to alter the narrative, scoring beautiful wins in meeting elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, the 2 states that dented its numbers within the Lok Sabha.
Right here’s a breakdown of what all occurred in Indian politics in 2024:
Lok Sabha Elections
The Lok Sabha polls threw up a bouquet of surprises. First, the BJP gained 240 seats and its Nationwide Democratic Alliance (NDA) bagged round 290 seats within the 543-member Home. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Haryana dissatisfied the BJP and introduced down its tally from 303 seats in 2019. The BJP hoped to extend its seats in West Bengal and southern states, however regional events like Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and MK Stalin’s DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) stood their floor. However, the BJP swept Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
Second, the Congress’s efficiency within the Lok Sabha polls turned a speaking level—extra so since its leaders had been visibly joyful (if not euphoric) in regards to the outcomes that got here at a time when many had written the celebration off. The Congress regained some misplaced floor in Maharashtra, Telangana, Haryana and Punjab. Nevertheless, the affect was restricted, and it confronted direct contests with the BJP in Rajasthan and Karnataka. Later, BJP leaders stated the Opposition gained because of the spreading of what they known as “false narratives” across the Structure and reservation, particularly within the battleground states of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. In the meantime, a number of BJP allies stated that the “400 paar” slogan might have backfired.
6 Months Of Modi 3.0
Regardless of shedding the bulk, the BJP retained all main portfolios like Residence, Finance, Defence, and Overseas Affairs. The celebration even assigned the identical portfolios to ministers who had been holding the tasks and made Om Birla the Lok Sabha speaker once more, signalling a continuity within the authorities.
Nevertheless, the federal government’s scrapping of the UPSC’s lateral entry coverage after objections by the BJP’s Bihar allies Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (U) and Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Social gathering (Ram Vilas) was dubbed a “U-turn” by the Opposition who pointed at “coalition pressures”. Later within the yr, a controversial Waqf modification invoice was despatched to the Parliament’s standing committee, a primary such referral in 5 years.
Meeting Elections
Six states went to polls this yr. The BJP and its allies gained 4, whereas the opposition INDIA bloc managed to win Jammu & Kashmir and retain Jharkhand. In J&Ok’s first meeting election after it was made a Union Territory in 2019, the Nationwide Convention emerged triumphant in alliance with the Congress. Nevertheless, the BJP bagged over half the seats within the Jammu area, a formidable efficiency. In Jharkhand, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)’s Hemant Soren was sworn in because the chief minister once more, with the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) his allies.
State elections in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh had been held concurrently with the nationwide polls. In Odisha, the BJP ended the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Naveen Patnaik’s two-decade rule and gained a shock majority. Buzz round Patnaik’s sick well being and his “successor” bureaucrat-turned-politician V Ok Pandian taking up because the CM turned speaking factors within the BJP marketing campaign.
In Andhra Pradesh, Jagan Reddy’s YSRCP was decimated, 5 years after it stormed to energy with a large mandate. BJP ally Chandrababu Naidu, who spent 53 days in jail earlier than getting bail in a corruption case, returned because the chief minister after voters gave a large mandate to his Telugu Desam Social gathering (TDP).
Most pollsters had predicted the BJP’s rout in Haryana, however the celebration fashioned authorities within the northern state for the third consecutive time in a miracle comeback. Inner riot, amongst different elements, was attributed to the poor efficiency of the Congress, whereas political pundits applauded BJP’s sales space administration.
Maharashtra was the finale of the 2024 election yr. It was the state the place the BJP-led NDA misplaced the battle to the INDIA bloc within the nationwide polls. Six main events, with three on all sides, went to the poll battle. However the BJP’s Mahayuti gained a giant mandate, securing over 200 seats within the 288-member meeting. The BJP gained over 134 seats by itself with a strike charge of virtually 90%. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Social gathering (NCP) additionally appeared to have settled the “who’s the actual?” debate with their dominance over Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena and Sharad Pawar’s NCP, in response to a bit of analysts and the profitable sides.
