Smriti Irani To MVA In Maharashtra — The Biggest Political Losses Of 2024

In 2024, India saw shocking electoral upsets. From tall leaders like Smriti Irani and Bhupesh Baghel losing elections, to Omar Abdullah and Hemant Soren staging huge comebacks — 2024 saw it all

The year 2024 saw 60 nations choose their governments. The biggest among them were those held in India and the United States of America. The elections across the world saw big upsets, some quite unexpected. In India, while the incumbent BJP-led National Democratic Alliance was expected to face stiff competition from the Opposition's united platform, INDIA, in the Lok Sabha elections, it definitely did not expect to be pushed back even below the simple majority mark.

As we bid farewell to 2024, the year of the biggest election in the world, we take a look at some of the biggest upsets in the Lok Sabha elections held in April-May.

Smriti Irani's Loss in Amethi

Union Minister Smriti Irani faced a stunning defeat in Amethi, a constituency she had famously won against Rahul Gandhi in 2019. This time, Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma reclaimed the seat with a margin of more than 1,67,000 votes, marking a massive comeback for the Congress party in a historical stronghold.

Yusuf Pathan's Victory Over Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

In a surprising turn of events, former cricketer Yusuf Pathan, who contested the elections on a Trinamool Congress ticket, defeated veteran Congress leader and leader of the party in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in Baharampur. Pathan's win by nearly 85,000 votes was quite unexpected, given Chowdhury's long history of winning in Bengal.

Rambhual Nishad Defeats Maneka Gandhi

In another upset, Maneka Gandhi lost her Sultanpur seat to Rambhual Nishad of the Samajwadi Party by over 43,000 votes. This loss was particularly highlighted as it highlighted the changing dynamics in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP had previously enjoyed considerable support.

Ajay Mishra Teni's Defeat In Lakhimpur Kheri

Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni also fell victim to the Samajwadi Party's resurgence, losing to Utkarsh Verma by about 34,000 votes in Kheri. Teni's loss was attributed to the 2020 farmers' protest controversy, wherein Ajay Teni's son Ashish Mishra Teni allegedly mowed down several farmers and a journalist. Ajay Teni is also alleged to have threatened farmers to stop their protests.

Omar Abdullah's Loss To Engineer Rashid

Former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Omar Abdullah was defeated by independent candidate Engineer Abdul Rashid Sheikh by over 200,000 votes in Baramulla. This was significant as the former CM lost to a candidate who fought the elections from jail.

Bhupesh Baghel's Loss To BJP

Another former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel from Chhattisgarh lost the Rajnandangaon Lok Sabha seat to BJP's Santosh Pandey by more than 44,000 votes. His loss came just months after the Congress lost the state to the saffron party in December 2023.

Biggest Upsets In Assembly Elections In 2024

While these were the candidates who lost in the Biggest Elections of the world, there were some major upsets for political parties as well in the Assembly elections held this year.

Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections

YSR Congress Party's Loss In Andhra Pradesh

The ruling party faced a historic defeat, winning only 11 out of 175 seats contested, which is the worst performance in its history. The loss was attributed to severe anti-incumbency sentiments against Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and his administration's perceived failures.

Chandrababu Naidu, a key ally in the NDA, emerged victorious in the polls.

Maharashtra Assembly Elections

In a shocking defeat in one of the most-anticipated elections of the year, the Maha Vikas Aghadi lost to the BJP-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra in November. While the Mahayuti won 237 seats in the 288-member assembly, the Mahayuti was left scraping up just 48 seats.

Omar Abdullah's Return As Jammu & Kashmir CM

Omar Abdullah pulled off a major upset over Mehbooba Mufti in a historic election. Both former Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir lost their respective seats during the Lok Sabha elections. But Omar Abdullah finally made a comeback in the first elections held in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He won both his seats in Budgam and Ganderbal.

Naveen Patnaik Unseated In Odisha

Naveen Patnaik, the longest-serving Chief Minister of Odisha was unseated by the BJP as his BJD lost to the saffron party. The BJP successfully ran campaigns of corruption against the BJD and on Odiya Asmita in both assembly and Lok Sabha polls to unseat the CM of 24 years.

Congress's Haryana Hopes Dashed

The Congress had its hopes high for the Haryana elections after the exit polls came out. Even during the counting the Congress celebrated early as the early trends swung in its favour. However, as the counting progressed, celebrations turned to allegations as the BJP eventually won a thumping victory despite facing several crises before the polls.

Jharkhand Crushes BJP's Hindutva Campaign

In Jharkhand, the BJP was riding high on its Hindutva, anti-corruption, and anti-encroachers campaigns, spearheaded by Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. Sarma sought to replicate his successful Hindutva pitch from Odisha in Jharkhand.

However, the tribal-dominated state crushed BJP's hopes as Hemant Soren rode on a sympathy wave after his imprisonment in an alleged corruption case and led his party to the biggest victory by any party in Jharkhand.