Introduction
The 18th Lok Sabha election results were announced on June 4, 2024, by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Spanning seven phases, India held the longest general elections from April 19 to June 1, 2024.[1] The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)’s expectations from this election were very high, projected through the slogan ‘ab ke bar 400 par’ (this time we will cross 400 seats) for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA – an electoral alliance). For itself, the BJP was projecting a figure of 370 seats, way more than the 303 it secured in 2019.
However, in actual fact, the BJP only managed to win 240 seats out of 543, falling short by 32 seats for a simple majority.[2] Due to this, the BJP has been forced to form a coalition government under the banner of NDA. Its two major coalition partners include the Janata Dal (United) from Bihar, and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), from the Southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The NDA coalition tally totals 293 seats out of 543.[3] For its part, the Indian National Congress (INC) managed to win 99 seats; while, cumulatively, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bagged 234 seats in the Lok Sabha. In the 2014 and 2019 elections, the BJP had managed to secure a majority on its own; however, as Figure 1 depicts, the BJP could not repeat that performance in 2024.
