Cong failed to convert vote share into seats

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) aren't the only parties ruing the fact that despite securing a considerable vote share, they failed to win many seats. A close look at election data shows the Congress secured a high share of votes in many states, but was completely routed.

For instance, the party got 40.7 per cent votes in Himachal Pradesh. But the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won all the four seats there, with 53.7 per cent votes. In the 2009 elections, the Congress had won one seat, with 45.61 per cent votes.

In Karnataka, the Congress's vote share was 40.8 per cent, against the BJP's 43 per cent. But the BJP won 17 of the 28 seats, eight more than the Congress.

In Rajasthan, where all 25 seats were won by the BJP, the Congress secured 30.4 per cent of the votes. In Gujarat and Uttarakhand, the Congress won about 30 per cent of the votes, but was completely wiped out. In Maharashtra, though its vote share was the same as the Shiv Sena's, it won just two seats, against the Shiv Sena's tally of 18.

In terms of national vote share, the Congress was second, with 19.3 per cent votes. In the 2009 elections, it held the top spot, with 28.55 per cent votes.

Political pundits say voters can primarily be divided into four categories - traditional, caste, candidate and swing voters. It is believed though the number of those in the last category is low, this segment plays a crucial part in deciding election outcomes.