Lok Sabha election results: What went wrong for BJP-NDA in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh? Union minister explains

Following the underwhelming performance of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale discussed the issues faced by the ruling coalition. Athawale emphasized the need to accept the electoral results. In Maharashtra, the splitting of Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led to voter preference for Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, which negatively impacted the NDA's performance, the minister said. Athawale, the MoS for social justice and empowerment, also suggested that voters might have misunderstood the BJP’s role, thinking it caused the split, whereas the factions joined BJP voluntarily, Athawale said.

The electoral trends in Maharashtra indicate that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), consisting of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP led by Sharad Pawar, is ahead 27 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra.

Regarding Uttar Pradesh, Athawale attributed NDA's setbacks to an opposition-led misinformation campaign suggesting that a 400-seat majority for NDA could lead to constitutional changes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also accused Congress of spreading rumors of 'changing the Indian Constitution. The opposition bloc, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), is performing strongly in this critical state. The Samajwadi Party led in 37 seats, and Congress in six, while BJP was leading in 33 seats. Its allies, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Apna Dal (Soneylal), and Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), led in two, one, and one seats, respectively.


This result in Uttar Pradesh surprised BJP, which had dominated the state in previous elections, winning 71 seats in 2014 and 62 in 2019. The Samajwadi Party had secured five seats, Congress one, and Bahujan Samaj Party 10 in the 2019 elections.

Previously, Athawale, the national president of the Republican Party of India (Athawale) and Union Minister, had expressed confidence in a substantial victory for the BJP-led NDA, predicting they would win 400 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections due to the public’s support for development and PM Modi.