The Lok Sabha 2024 elections were a hardly contested battle. The world’s largest democratic exercise carried on for more than a month and culminated in seven phases. The Lok Sabha Election 2024 commenced with the first polling on April 19, 2024, and concluded with the seventh round of voting on June 1, 2024.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured 291 seats, while the Congress-led INDIA bloc won 234 seats. The Congress improved its performance, winning 99 seats compared to 52 in 2019. The BJP won 240 seats.
This time, the battle was quite interesting as the behemoth BJP was looking to secure another term in the Lok Sabha, while the newly formed coalition, the I.N.D.I Alliance stood against it as a formidable opponent. While a few seats witnessed a change in leadership, some remained strongholds for their respective contenders.
Let’s take a look at the seats that still remained a stronghold for their respective candidates.
Varanasi
One of the most significant seats to consider is Varanasi, the very constituency from which Prime Minister Modi himself contested. The Kashi seat has been a strong Bastion for the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured victory in the Varanasi seat for the third consecutive term. Narendra Modi, the BJP candidate, contested from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. His opponent in the elections was the state Congress chief, Ajay Rai.
Varanasi holds significance as the spiritual capital of the Hindu faith, where devotees from all over India come to cremate their deceased loved ones by the Ganges river. The campaigning in Varanasi witnessed Narendra Modi, Ajay Rai, and their supporters rallying through the streets despite the scorching sun, with afternoon temperatures soaring as high as 45 degrees. PM Modi secured victory in the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections by a margin of 1,52,513 votes. However, this victory margin has noticeably narrowed in comparison to the 2019 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Thiruvananthapuram
Another such constituency that had remained a bastion for its candidate is Thiruvananthapuram. The battle in Thiruvananthapuram was riveting. The seat in the southern state of India saw a fierce battle between the incumbent three-time MP and veteran Congress politician Shashi Tharoor, who was in competition with Rajeev Chandrasekhar from the BJP, a duo that garnered much attention.
According to data released by the Election Commission of India, the estimated voter turnout for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency was 66.47%. In 2019, the voter turnout in this seat was 74%, in 2014 it was 69% and in 2009 it was 66%.
Now let’s take a look at the constituency where the seats flipped.
Jammu & Kashmir
One such seat is J&K’s Baramulla from where the Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was defeated by Abdul Rashid Sheikh, also known as Engineer Rashid. He secured victory by one lakh votes.
Rashid’s victory comes as a shock as the candidate has been in Tihar Jail for the last 5 years under UAPA (Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act) charges. The election campaigns were led by his two sons since he was in prison at the time, he ran as a single candidate.
The Jammu & Kashmir region had long been a bastion for the National Conference and the PDP, but these elections showcased that the people of India in every region are always looking forward to new change
The elections this time displayed interesting dynamics and showcased an intricate interplay of electoral dynamics. The world’s largest democratic exercise has finally culminated and the voting has also ended. Although the BJP has secured good numbers with the BJP falling 32 seats short of the 272-seat halfway mark in the Lok Sabha, he will need to rely on allies.
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