The BJP’s vote share suffered a decline this time while the Congress and the Samajwadi party garnered more votes compared to what they did in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, according to Election Commission data on Tuesday.
The BJP, which contested more seats this time than in 2019 but is likely to fall short of the magic figure of 272, garnered 36.91 per cent of the total votes polled, a drop of around 0.39 percentage points as of 6.15 pm.
On the other hand, the Congress’ vote share increased by 2.22 percentage points to reach 21.68 per cent and it was also reflected in its seat tally. The party is set to win 99 seats.
The main opposition party saw its electoral fortunes improve in Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, the key north Indian state where its ally the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi party almost doubled its vote share to 4.66 per cent.
West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress saw its vote share increase from 4.06 per cent in the 2019 elections to 4.25 per cent this time.
On the other hand, the vote share of the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) reduced by 1.55 percentage points to settle at 2.07 per cent.