Election result 2024: Congress end Gujarat loss streak, wins after a decade

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Congress' Geniben Thakor from Banaskantha Lok Sabha constituency defeated her BJP counterpart Rekha Chaudhary by 30,000 votes

Geniben Thakor of the Congress party secured the Banaskantha Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat on Tuesday, defeating Rekha Chaudhary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by a margin of 30,000 votes. The BJP had aimed to win all 26 seats in Gujarat for the third time.

Initially, when the counting began, the Congress was leading in four seats in Gujarat, but ultimately, Thakor emerged as the sole winner from her party. Banaskantha has been a BJP stronghold, with Parbatbhai Patel winning the seat in 2019 by defeating Congress’s Parthi Bhatol by 368,000 votes and securing it in the 2014 elections as well.

Political analysts attribute Thakor’s victory to her strong grassroots connection and the significant support she received from the influential Thakor community, which has a substantial presence in Banaskantha. 

The Congress had not won any seats in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, in 2009, the Congress had won 11 out of 26 seats in Gujarat, while the BJP secured 14.

Setback for BJP in UP, Maharashtra

As the counting for the 2024 General Elections continues, the BJP-led NDA alliance was leading in 298 seats, with the INDIA bloc trailing at 228 seats as of 5 pm. The BJP, which had aimed for 370 seats and set a target of 400-plus for the NDA, appears to be falling short, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 legislators to the Lok Sabha.

In Uttar Pradesh, the INDIA bloc, comprising the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, was ahead in over 40 out of 80 seats as of 3 pm, while the BJP was in the mid-thirties. The BJP had previously swept the state in 2014 and maintained its dominance in 2019, and most exit polls had predicted an edge for the party this time.

The BJP has also faced setbacks in two other key battleground states. In West Bengal, the party is leading in only 12 seats as of 5 pm, while Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress has regained ground, leading in 29 seats. Congress was leading on one seat.

In Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena is ahead in 11 seats, compared to Shinde Sena’s 5. The Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP is leading in just one seat, while his uncle Sharad Pawar is ahead in seven. The BJP and Congress are neck-and-neck with 12 and 11 seats, respectively.