As BJP sputters to reach half-way mark, allies TDP, JD(U) come into play

Nearly four hours after the counting of votes began, the ruling BJP – which had won 303 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections – appeared to be struggling to reach the 240 mark. If the numbers hold, the BJP will have to ride on the coattails of its allies – particularly the TDP and JD(U) – to form the government.

While the BJP is leading in 238 seats, Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP is leading in 16 of the 17 seats it contested in Andhra Pradesh; Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) in 15 of the 17 seats in Bihar; the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) five; Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena in 6 seats in Maharashtra; JD(S) in three; and Pawan Kalyan’s JanaSena Party in two seats in Andhra Pradesh.

In Bihar, the JD(U) is leading in more seats than the BJP.

The BJP at the moment is suffering reverses in the North and it is not in a happy situation in the South either. While the BJP, which is leading in two seats in Kerala, is set to open its account in the state, it could double its tally in Telangana. The party had won four seats in Telangana last time.

But the news is not good for the party in Karnataka, where it is leading in 17 seats, as compared to the 25 of 28 it had won last time. The Congress is leading in eight seats.

In Tamil Nadu, where the BJP expected to pick up some seats, the party is leading in none. Its vote share, however, has crossed the 9% mark compared to 3.62% last time.

In Andhra Pradesh, the BJP is leading in 3 seats. It had none in Andhra last time.

Among the allies, the TDP is set to hold the most influence, having on its own crossed the halfway mark in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly. The JD(U), which was written off in Bihar, is also back in the game.

While the BJP had stormed to power in 2014 winning 282 seats on its own and becoming the first