BJP Tightens Grip On Hindi Heartland With Triple Win Ahead Of LS Polls, Cong Finds Solace In Telangana

The BJP secures a resounding victory in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, tightening its grip on the Hindi heartland, while the Congress finds solace in ousting the BRS in Telangana, marking a pivotal turn ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Photos of BJP's Joytiraditya Scindia with MP CM Shivraj Chouhan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy ( Image Source :PTI )

Election Results 2023: In a significant electoral triumph, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a resounding victory in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, tightening its grip on the Hindi heartland ahead of the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha Election. The Congress, however, found a silver lining by ousting the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) in Telangana, resulting in a 3-1 win for the BJP in the latest round of Assembly elections.

• The BJP emerged victorious in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, boosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's standing and setting the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In Telangana, the Congress defeated the Bharat Rashtra Samiti, securing a victory that countered the saffron wave.
  
  
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing supporters at the BJP headquarters, interpreted the results as a validation of the party's fight against corruption. He stated, "The results show popular support for our battle against corruption." He said that the mandate in favour of the BJP has also proved that "there is zero tolerance against corruption, appeasement, and familism."
  
  He went on to remark that people are saying "Today's hattrick has guaranteed the hattrick of 2024."
  
  
  
  
  
• Hitting out the Opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A., PM Modi said, these election results are also a "big lesson" for Congress and its 'ghamandiya gathbandhan'. "The lesson is that the country's trust cannot be won just by a few family members coming together on the stage," he said.
  
  He also remarked that Congress and its allies "should not indulge in politics that empowers anti-national forces".
  
  
• In Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP has ruled for 18 years, the party overcame anti-incumbency. Shivraj Singh Chauhan's leadership secured a simple majority, winning 141 seats in the 230-member House. Rajasthan stuck to a 30-year-old tradition of not voting an incumbent party back to power. The BJP secured 115 seats out of 199, while the Congress got 69. In Chhattisgarh, the BJP's unexpected win dashed Congress hopes, securing 54 seats compared to Congress's 35 in the 90-member House.
  
  Meanwhile, the Congress won in Telangana with 61 seats, ousting the BRS. The BJP, winning 8 seats, doubled its vote share from 2018.
  
  
• BJP's candidate, K Venkata Ramana Reddy, won in Telangana's Kamareddy, trouncing the outgoing Chief Minister CM K Chandrashekar Rao and state Congress chief Revanth Reddy from this seat. He won by a margin of 6,741, garnering a total of 66,652 votes. KCR and Revanth Reddy saw victory in the Gajwel and Kodangal constituencies respectively.
  
  
• Citing the triple wins, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated, "The days of appeasement and caste politics are over," highlighting the BJP's focus on performance-based politics. Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge acknowledged the disappointment in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan but vowed to prepare fully for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
  
  Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi accepted the mandate in the three states while stating that "the battle of ideology will continue". 
• The BJP attributed its success to Modi's "guarantees" on issues like free food grain, income assistance for farmers, and housing for all. The slogan "Modi Yaani Har Guarantee Poori Hone Ki Guarantee" resonated with voters. With a total of 84 Lok Sabha seats in these five states, the BJP's performance in the heartland sets the stage for a crucial contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The scale of the BJP's win in Chhattisgarh and MP surprised even party leaders, PTI reported.

• On BJP's victory in Rajasthan, outgoing CM Ashok Gehlot expressed that he was shocked by the results, "I have always said that I will accept the mandate of the people and I extend my best wishes to the future government. I hope they work for the welfare of the people of the state...The results are shocking."

  "We did not leave any stone unturned and were fully prepared for the elections. We thought people would vote for us based on our current schemes but that did not happen. We will analyse this. I thought people would take revenge from PM Modi and HM Amit Shah but I think the public could not understand this," he added.

  #WATCH | Delhi: On BJP's lead in Rajasthan, CM Ashok Gehlot says "I have always said that I will accept the mandate of the people and I extend my best wishes to the future government. I hope they work for the welfare of the people of the state...The results are shocking..." pic.twitter.com/r7uxhOUk2P

  — ANI (@ANI) December 3, 2023

  Meanwhile, MP Congress president Kamal Nath on the party's loss in the state said, "We will analyse the loopholes and why we were not able to make the voters understand our point. We will hold discussions with all, be it a winning or losing candidate."

• BRS working president K T Rama Rao said the Telangana poll results were disappointing but he was not saddened. In a post on 'X', Rama Rao congratulated the Congress party saying, "Grateful to the people of Telangana for giving @BRSparty two consecutive terms of Government. Not saddened over the result today, but surely disappointed as it was not in the expected lines for us. But we will take this in our stride as a learning and will bounce back."
  
  
  
  
  
• Notably, the Congress party's loss has raised questions about its role in the I.N.D.I.A. opposition bloc, with other parties questioning its position as the fulcrum of the alliance. With a total of 84 Lok Sabha seats in the poll-bound five states, the BJP's performance in the heartland sets the stage for a crucial contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
  
  MP has 29 Lok Sabha seats, Chhattisgarh 11, Rajasthan 25, Telangana 17, and Mizoram 2.

In the aftermath of these results, the political landscape in India is an interesting space with the BJP consolidating its position and the Congress facing internal scrutiny within the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. The impact of these outcomes is likely to reverberate as political strategies are reshaped in anticipation of the 2024 general elections.