BJP Heavyweights Suffer Defeat in 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, NDA Leans on Allies

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 5th June.  In a surprising turn of events, several BJP heavyweights, including Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, and Ajay Mishra Teni, were unseated in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. These losses, particularly in the Hindi heartland, have compelled the BJP to rely on its NDA partners to form the government, diverging from the landslide victories of 2014 and 2019 when the party secured majorities on its own with 282 and 303 seats respectively.

The Election Commission of India has announced results for 542 out of 543 Lok Sabha constituencies. The BJP secured 240 seats, while the Indian National Congress trailed with 99 seats.

Key Defeats:

Smriti Irani: One of the most notable defeats was that of Smriti Irani in Amethi. Irani, who famously unseated Rahul Gandhi in 2019, lost to Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma by a margin of 1,67,196 votes, marking the end of her era in Amethi.

Ajay Mishra Teni: The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, embroiled in the controversial Lakhimpur Kheri incident, was defeated by the Samajwadi Party’s Utkarsh Verma by over 34,329 votes.

Arjun Munda: The Union Tribal Affairs Minister faced a resounding defeat in Jharkhand’s Khunti constituency, losing to Congress candidate Kalicharan Munda by 1,49,675 votes.

Kailash Choudhary: In Rajasthan’s Barmer, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Kailash Choudhary, finished third, trailing by 4.48 lakh votes behind Congress’ Ummeda Ram Beniwal.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar: In Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, lost to Congress stalwart Shashi Tharoor by over 16,077 votes.

In addition to these defeats, several other BJP ministers, including Mahendra Nath Pandey, Kaushal Kishore, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Sanjeev Balyan, Rao Saheb Danve, RK Singh, V Muraleedharan, L Murugan, Subhas Sarkar, and Nishith Pramanik, faced setbacks in the elections.

These defeats have reshaped the political landscape, signaling the emergence of new challenges for the BJP and underscoring the need for coalition-building and alliance management in the post-election scenario.