Lok Sabha Election Result: How India Voted | India News

When over 60 million people across region, language, religion, caste, gender and other identities come out to elect a government for five years, they leave behind a rich footprint of preferences and behaviours. This time, more than in 2014, the voting pattern has been singular. We spotlight the most interesting and insightful trends… medium69480583 In 2014 Lok Sabha elections 324 seats had flipped parties — they were won by non-incumbents. Of these, the largest share of 179 went to BJP whereas Congress had wrested only 10 seats from others while giving away 172 to its rivals (see smaller map). In 2019, 189 seats went away from incumbent parties. BJP grabbed 58 of these whereas Congress wrested 33. The largest share of flipped seats this time went to non-Congress, non-BJP parties — 98 in total. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh accounted for the largest share of such seats. medium69480631BJP’s vote share increased impressively over 2014 in most states —including where it didn’t win a seat, like Kerala where it gained 17% higher vote share in Thrissur. In Bengal (deep green area in BJP’s largely green India map) its vote share gain was up to 42% (in Purulia). The record vote share gain was in Hissar, Haryana, where the party’s share jumped 51%. In temple town Tirupati, BJP’s vote share fell 44% over its 2014 count. Congress’s highest vote share gains were in Jharkhand, Anantnag and few seats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In its largely red map, the biggest loss of vote share was in Mizoram (49%). medium nocaption69484598Regional parties DMK and NC, both UPA allies, and LJP, an NDA ally, won all the seats they contested: LJP 6, DMK 23 and NC 3. Led by Stalin, DMK came back from a wipeout in 2014 to win all 23 it contested in Tamil Nadu. BSP had the lowest strike rate nationally of 2.6%. YSRCP won 22 of the 25 it contested in Andhra (88%). medium69482866In 2014, 353 MPs won with over 1 lakh vote margin. This time 366 MPs had winning margins of over one lakh votes. While in 2014, six candidates won with more than 5 lakh vote margin, in 2019 a markedly higher 16 managed the feat. medium69484103A measure of a party’s success is how many votes it polled to win a seat. Better conversion of votes means a party won a seat with a smaller haul of votes. Usually, regionals have better conversion of votes to seat, as they field candidates in their strongholds but this time BJP fared well. medium69482884Making the right noises, Didi & Naveen Patnaik’s minimum quota for women nominees paid rich dividends. In all, 78 of 716 total women contestants won. Only 1 of the 54 candidates the Congress fielded won, 40 of BJP’s 53, and just one of BSP’s 24. Only one Independent of the 222 who contested made it. medium69483379To its 40 Scheduled Caste seats in 2014, BJP added 5 this time, while also adding 5 to its Scheduled Tribe tally to take the total to 31 seats. TMC lost 5 SC and 2 ST seats, while DMK, BSP and YSRCP were gainers. medium69483404BJP expectedly lost some Muslim dominant seats (those with a Muslim population of above 30%). Most of these were in UP. But it also made some gains in such seats in West Bengal and Assam. BSP, SP and Trinamool were the main gainers in such seats. Many were, however, tight contests, suggesting that there was both a Muslim consolidation and a consolidation among significant sections of non-Muslims. medium69483628Despite farm distress being a key concern, BJP made gains in rural areas. It also gained 15 seats in rurban – or partially urban – areas. Cong made significant gains in urban areas, but most came from Kerala and TN. In the Hindi heartland, BJP got 43% rural votes against nearly 60% in urban areas. medium69483641 In the 226 seats with high unemployment rates as per CMIE data, there was some reflection of the concern in the voting pattern. Here, Congress and BSP gained, the former mostly in Kerala and Punjab, and the latter in UP. On the other hand, in low unemployment areas, BJP gained, with most gains coming from Karnataka, Bengal and Northeast. medium69484514Regional Parties Fail To Stop BJPRegional parties, which ensured three-way or four-cornered fights in 42% of all seats were no force in the face of the BJP, which won 111 of 220 it contested. Together, SP-BSP, TMC, BJD, YSRCP and TRS sent about 100 MPs to the 17th Lok Sabha. Congress in these nine states won 19 of 205 seats it contested. It had won 17 in 2014. SP-BSP’s survival hinged on their coming together, but their alliance’s success in the 2018 bypolls was short-lived, though BSP won 11 and SP 5. Delhi’s message was clear: tie up or perish. BJP retained all 7, a foregone conclusion once a Cong-AAP alliance failed to take off medium69483476Nitish Returns, Stalin ScoresSeven states fought the traditional NDA-UPA battle. BJP-led NDA swept in 2014 with 154 seats (BJP 84, allies 70). UPA had 42, Congress 18. This time, BJP improved its tally to 87, but lost its only seat in TN. Congress gained 6 to win 24 in all, and ally DMK won all seats it contested: 23 of TN’s 38. Bihar gave UPA a thumbs-down, while NDA ally JD(U) was the real winner winning 16 of the 17 it fought. BJP and Sena retained the 23 and 18 seats they won in Maharashtra in 2014. Post Jayalalithaa’s death in 2016, her AIADMK, which won 29 seats in 2014, is still in disarray, and won two seats. Stalin came good in his first LS election as DMK chief medium69483496Yet Another No ContestIn these seven states in 2014, BJP won 99, Congress 3. This time BJP won 98, Congress 4: two in Chhattisgarh (Korba and Bastar), one in MP (Kamal Nath’s son won Chhindwara) and one in Goa. BJP took home the full haul of seats in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Himachal and Uttarakhand, including ally Hanuman Beniwal’s win of one seat in Rajasthan Congress’ failure in this bloc is spectacular, given it was voted to the state assembly in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh last December. medium69483512East Goes Full SaffronBJP won the two seats each in Tripura and Arunachal, as well as Inner Manipur, while NDA partner NPF won the other Manipur seat. Meghalaya was split between NDA ally NPP and Congress while Mizoram’s sole seat went to MNF, also an NDA ally. Chamling’s SDF lost the Sikkim seat after five terms. Nagaland too went to NDA ally NDPP. boxcontentTHE FIRSTS THIS POLLLongest In Recent TimesThis election has been the longest in recent decades — 38 days. The four-day election of 1980 was the shortest. The EC came in for flak for its schedule, which the opposition alleged favoured the ruling BJP at the Centre. Troop movement and logistics usually define the planning of the mammoth exercise.Women Voters Out In ForceWomen voters outnumbered men voters in 13 states and UTs this time, compared to 11 in 2014. Bihar and Uttarakhand were the two new states this election. Across the 13 states and UTs, 21 lakh more women voted than men. That said, UP, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan have the largest number of women not enrolled: 10 million of the estimated 21 million missing women voters across India. In UP, 85,000 women voters on average were not enrolled in every seat.Most Expensive At 70,000crA 'verrrry' rich first. Experts believe the spend on this election could have been at least $8.5 billion, and as much as $10 billion (Rs 70k cr), a first in that it was much more than the $6.5 billion spent in the 2016 US general election.With 542 MPs to be elected, average campaign expenditure per LS seat was tipped at a staggering Rs 129 crore! We doubt all of this will show up in official EC data.Ambani BlessingsThe friendship between India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani and Congress nominee Milind Deora’s father, the late Murli Deora, is legendary. But in a first, the industrialist, along with banker-businessman Uday Kotak, released a video message endorsing Deora’s candidature in Mumbai South.All Campaign, No ContestThis time a number of high-profile politicians with their own outfits grabbed eyeballs and livened up the election — though not all of them contested. Leading the pack was MNS’s Raj Thackeray, who did sharper takedowns of the BJP-Sena than the Cong-NCP could. His surgical video strikes against BJP went viral. Another headline-grabbing canvasser was Kamal Haasan whose “First extremist in independent India was a Hindu” comment in TN after elections in the state, but before the last crucial phase, stirred up a hornet’s nest, and confused the EC. An emotional Yogendra Yadav and superstar Rajinikanth also weighed in.Third Gender In FrayThere were at least four candidates who identified themselves as third gender and contested from seats in Maharashtra, Gujarat and UP. Among them was a Hindu monk fielded by AAP in Allahabad, the 46-year-old Bhawani Nath Valmiki — recently made the north India head of the Kinnar Akhada. The others contested as Independents.A 100%+ TurnoutThere was a 143% voter turnout in Tashigang village in Himachal Pradesh. And all were valid votes. Because poll officials deployed at Tashigang and neighbouring areas chose to cast their votes in the village, excited at the prospect of being at the world’s highest polling station. Tashigang is at a height of 15,256 feet. The village has only 49 registered voters, of which 36 cast their votes. Some 34 poll officials also voted.Results On AppWhen 430 million Indians own a smart phone, half a billion use the Internet, 300 million use Facebook, 200 million are on WhatsApp and 30 million are on Twitter, it is only fitting that the Election Commission made the results available on an app.One Seat, Three PhasesIn a first, the EC broke up voting in a single constituency, Anantnag, into three phases, citing security fears. There were 18 candidates in the J&K constituency, which has 16 assembly segments including Pulwama. Voter turnout was 1.1% in the Homshalibug assembly segment. This was also the first time since 1996 that elections to the J&K assembly were not held simultaneously with the LS election.