West Bengal, Haryana, and Rajasthan "rejected" BJP: Congress leader Sachin Pilot

New Delhi [India], June 5 : After the BJP-led NDA alliance fell short of gaining the expected numbers, Congress leader Sachin Pilot said that in states where the BJP expected to increase its numbers, like West Bengal, Haryana, and Rajasthan, people have rejected them.
Pilot claimed that the public didn't like the BJP's narrative of "Mandir-Masjid", "Hindu-Muslim".
"The states in which the BJP expected to increase its numbers, like West Bengal, Haryana and Rajasthan, the people have rejected them there... The issues we brought up were liked by the people... Our narrative was optimistic, BJP's narrative was Mandir-Masjid, Hindu-Muslim and Mangalsutra. The people may have not liked it... Who would have taken the credit if they (BJP) had gone above 400?... Those who wanted the credit have to accept that the public did not give them their expected mandate," said Pilot while talking to ANI.
The final count for the Lok Sabha 2024 elections has concluded, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning 240 seats, far fewer than had been expected, however, prevailing over the Opposition, Congress, which won 99 seats.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, but the BJP will need to rely on the support of other parties in his coalition - JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP's chief Chandrababu Naidu, falling 32 seats short of the 272 majority mark - a stunning blow for the PM, who had hoped for a landslide victory '400 paar'.
Talking about party strategy for the next day Pilot said, "The alliance has to make the political decisions. There will be an INDIA Alliance meeting tomorrow. The counting would also be complete by then and we will get the final numbers... The public has given a clear message to the ruling party that the kind of governance they were giving, is not acceptable and that is why their total tally has dropped to 60 to 65 seats. It's a political message from the public through EVM and BJP should introspect this," said Sachin Pilot.
For the first time, since the Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in 2014, it did not secure a majority on its own --- far fewer than the record 303 it won in the 2019 election.
In the face of the surprising drop in the BJP's support, the Opposition INDIA bloc claimed they had won a victory of sorts, Congress said that the election had been a "moral and political loss" for PM Modi.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the people of the country have accepted Congress and Rahul Gandhi to a large extent and the result has destroyed "Modi's popularity".
Addressing a press conference, CM Siddaramaiah said, "Rahul Gandhi's two yatras have yielded results. The people of the country have accepted Congress and Rahul Gandhi to a large extent. In both constituencies, Rahul Gandhi won by a huge margin. With the constitution in hand, Rahul Gandhi campaigned in the entire country."
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP faced a significant challenge from the INDIA bloc, led by the Samajwadi Party, which won 37 seats. The Samajwadi Party reduced the BJP's count to 35 from 62 seats in 2019.
The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) secured 29 seats, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) secured 22 seats, and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) secured 16 seats, according to the Election Commission of India.
The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) secured 7 seats and is leading in 1 seat.
Other notable results include Janata Dal (United) - JD(U) with 12 seats, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) with 9 seats, Shiv Sena (SHS) with 7 seats, and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) with 5 seats. The Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) each secured 4 seats.
The BJP's tally of 240 seats marks a decrease from previous elections, while Congress increased its count from 52 seats in 2019 to 99 in 2024.
The BJP faced setbacks in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan struggled in the south, and saw limited success in West Bengal. However, it triumphed in Odisha, winning 20 out of 21 seats, with Congress securing the remaining seat and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) failing to win any.
In Bihar, the Congress RID alliance failed to enthuse voters, and the NDA alliance held its own.
A meeting of the NDA with its two biggest allies, TDP and JD(U), and the meeting of the INDIA bloc has been scheduled for today to discuss the way forward.