The arrogance which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is filled with, was reflected in Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently when he told a rally in Cuttack that “the BJP is in power in 20 states of the country which shows that people have endorsed NDA’s performance in the last four years.” We know the saffron party is ignorant and negligent when it comes to crediting other people’s works and achievements, but we did not expect them to forget their own numbers and achievements.
No problem, we will clarify this for the public. Contrary to what Modi says, BJP has majority in just 10 states. Yes, you heard that right. No 20, but exactly the half of it i.e. 10. BJP “is in power” in the other states largely due to smart pre or post-electoral alliances. BJP had a clear majority in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Now, let’s talk about other states. Arunachal, where it is in power, has another story. It has only secured 11 in its 60-member assembly, whereas the Congress finished with 42 seats. Despite this, the BJP engineered multiple defections in the opposition ranks ending up forming its own government.
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In other states, Maharashtra (122/288), Assam (60/126), Bihar (53/243), Jharkhand (35/81), Goa (13/40), Jammu and Kashmir (25/89), Manipur (21/60), Meghalaya (2/60) and Nagaland (12/60), the BJP is totally at the mercy of its regional allies. It’ll be reduced to nothing in these states if its allies withdraw their support.
Barring Karnataka where it secured 104 out of 222 seats, the saffron party has been a non-starter in the remaining states:
Kerala: 1 of 140 seats
Punjab: 3 of 117 seats
West Bengal: 3 of 295 seats
Telangana: 5 of 119 seats
Andhra Pradesh: 4 of 175 seats
Delhi: 3 of 70 seats
Odisha: 10 of 147 seats
Tamil Nadu: 0 of 232 seats
Sikkim: 0 of 32 seats
Puducherry: 0 of 30 seats
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh elections are to take place this year and many election surveys have shown that the saffron party is not in a very good shape. At such a time, such arrogance would not bear them any positive result. Perhaps, it is time for some introspection.