Congress leader Sachin Pilot analyzed the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections and said that the electorate rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition in these elections. “People did not accept the BJP’s campaign of ‘Mandir Masjid’, Hindu Muslim and ‘Mangalsutra’. The central government adopted an attitude, especially against the opposition, such as attacking them, imprisoning elected chief ministers and misusing agencies like the ED and CBI all these actions have been rejected by the people,” Pilot said, ANI reported.
Pilot emphasized that the electorate dismissed such polarizing tactics and instead leaned towards the Congress’ manifesto and inclusive narrative. “On the other hand, the Congress, whose numbers have doubled, was better understood by the public in terms of our manifesto, our narrative and our campaign. The double engine has failed in Lucknow (UP), Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Haryana. “I am grateful to the workers, leaders and Congress candidates,” Pilot said, ANI reported.
“The message of this election is definitely against the BJP and the NDA,” he added. “If we look at the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, what message do they convey? Before the elections, the BJP went to the elections with 303 seats and claimed in the House that it would win 370 seats and the coalition would get 400 seats, but when the results came, the BJP ended up with 60-70 fewer seats, stopping at 240, and the coalition’s tally also fell short,” Pilot said, ANI reported.
Pilot said the electorate’s mandate was not in favor of any party or coalition, meaning a shift towards coalition or mixed governments in the future. “The public’s mandate was against both the coalition and the BJP. I think the politics and governance that the BJP offered and the issues it campaigned on were directly rejected by the people, and all their claims were proven to be erroneous. Today, no party The people have given a clear mandate to form the government. Any government that is formed will be a coalition or a mixed government,” Pilot said, ANI reported.
He also said that the government formation process is underway, with the President actively participating in the nomination of candidates and the final result will soon be clear. In Rajasthan, the BJP won 14 of 25 seats, while the Congress bagged eight seats. The CPI(M), Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and Bharat Adivasi Party managed to bag one seat each, ANI reported.
The BJP had secured a majority in Rajasthan in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, winning 24 seats, while the Congress, which won zero seats in 2019, managed to add 8 seats this time. Voting for the 25 seats in Rajasthan concluded in the first and second phases on April 19 and 26 respectively. Meanwhile, according to the Election Commission of India, the BJP won 240 seats, far less than its tally of 303 in 2019.
The Congress, on the other hand, recorded a sharp improvement, winning 99 seats. While the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 292 seats, the INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing tough competition and defying all predictions. Prime Minister Modi won a third term, but the BJP needed support from other parties in its coalition, mainly JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu.
(With contributions from ANI)