Battle for South: BJP ups tally; Congress betters performance in Karnataka
Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP is emerging as the hero of the hour in the state of Andhra
The five Southern states are pivotal in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as the BJP has been hoping to make some gains in this part of the country to shore up its tally to reach its ambitious 400+ mark. The INDIA alliance too have worked hard to keep the saffron party at bay. What are the early trends suggesting in these states?
Karnataka
As counting of votes picks up pace, the BJP-JD(S) alliance has won five of 28 Lok Sabha seats so far while the Congress gained four, outperforming its 2019 performance of one seat.
Prajwal Revanna lost the Hassan seat to Congess candidate Shreyas Patel by 44,000 votes. JD(S) has lost Hassan seat after a gap of 25 years. Before Revanna, accused of rape and sexual assault, was elected MP in 2019, the constituency was represented by former PM H D Deve Gowda.
The BJP-JD(S) alliance has also won the North Kanara seat as former speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri from BJP romps home. Meanwhile, JD(S) chief HD Kumaraswamy won from Mandya constituency, Basavaraj Bommai from Haveri and Jagadish Shettar from Belagavi Rural.
Karnataka is a key south state for both the Congress and the BJP. While the Congress is desperately trying to replicate its huge win in the 2023 assembly elections, the BJP is keen to maintain its 2019 tally to increase its numbers from the south.
The exit polls had predicted a potential landslide victory for the BJP in Karnataka setting of panic in the Congress unit fronted by Siddaramaiah and DKS.
Among key contests in this state, BJP’s youth wing leader Tejasvi Surya is likely to retain his Bangalore South seat.
Dr C N Manjunath is leading in Bangalore Rural segment against D K Suresh, brother of regional strongman, the state deputy CM and KPCC president D K Shivakumar.
At noon, some of the constituencies which are seeing a close contest are: Gulbarga where AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge's son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani is leading by 10,000 votes against BJP's Umesh Jadhav, Koppal where Congress is leading by 3,800 votes, and Davanagere where Congress is leading by 10,000 votes.
The state which went to poll in two phases recorded its highest-ever voter turnout for a general election at 69.9 per cent, in comparison to the last two elections in 2019 and 2014. According to reports, women came out in larger numbers to vote, which is believed to be an outcome of the Congress government’s five guarantee schemes targeting women.
Tamil Nadu
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led INDIA alliance seems to be heading for a clean sweep, leading in 38 seats out of 39 seats. NDA ally PMK is leading only in Dharmapuri, while BJP’s Annamalai trails in Coimbatore. BJP, however, has already increased its vote share for first time.
Tamil Nadu registered a voter turnout of 69.72 percent this year in the Lok Sabha election held in a single phase on April 19. The exit polls had indicated the saffron party gaining four seats in the state while DMK may gain a thumping victory followed by AIADMK. The BJP had failed to secure a single seat in Tamil Nadu in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
State BJP chief K Annamalai is pitted against DMK’s Ganapathi P and AIADMK’s Singai in Coimbatore. Sitting DMK MP Kanimozhi is leading against AIADMK’s R Sivasamy Velumani in Thoothukudi.
Kerala
Congress-led UDF seems like heading for a near sweep in the state. As per the early trends, UDF is leading in 16 out of 20 seats. In 2019, the UDF had bagged 19 out of 20 seats. It seems that BJP is poised to break the jinx and open its account in this southern state which had kept them at bay in 2014 and 2019.
Actor-turned politician BJP candidate Suresh Gopi is leading in Thrissur, as he has been maintaining a clear lead over rivals V S Sunil Kumar of CPI and K Muraleedharan of Congress. The NDA is leading in two seats.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi continues to lead in Wayanad, with CPIM’s Annie Raja trailing behind.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Congress sitting MP Shashi Tharoor is facing formidable challenge from BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Both candidates have been taking the lead in turn when counting was progressing.
Early trends show that the Congress-led UDF will have massive support from Muslim—and Christian-dominated areas in Kerala in 2024.
The ruling LDF is leading in two seats.
Andhra Pradesh
Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP is emerging as the hero of the hour in the state of Andhra. The TDP-JSP-BJP alliance is leading in 14 of the 25 parliamentary seats, while the YSRCP is ahead in 3 seats.
Early trends show that over 15 of the 26 YSRCP ministers are headed for a defeat, with TDP and JSP candidates establishing leads in their constituencies.
In the latest update from the Kuppam constituency, N Chandrababu Naidu is currently holding a slender lead in a closely contested race.
Meanwhile, in Pithapuram, the well-known actor turned politician K Pawan Kalyan of the Jana Sena Party is leading the race. In the LS constituency of Kadapa, the pocket borough of YSR family, TDP is leading. YS Sharmila is the Congress candidate here.
According to the exit polls, the NDA alliance is predicted to sweep the Andhra Lok Sabha elections, potentially winning 19-25 seats out of 25. The ruling Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSRCP is predicted to win only up to 8 seats.
Telangana
The Congress is leading in eight Lok Sabha seats, while the BJP is ahead in another eight. Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is still leading in Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, the BRS is facing an uphill battle to catch up with its rivals.
