Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The BJP and the Congress have rolled up their sleeves for the Lok Sabha election after the recently concluded assembly polls. The Congress wants to contest the Lok Sabha election, shaking off the jolt that it has received in the assembly election.
Nevertheless, the major challenge before the Congress is that it has to reduce the gap of 24% of votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
In the previous Lok Sabha election, the BJP got 58% of votes and the Congress just 34.5%. In the same year, the Congress won only one seat in MP.
In fact, the party has been lagging behind the BJP in terms of vote share for the past 32 years. In the past two Lok Sabha elections, the gap between the BJP and Congress in terms of vote share has enormously increased.
In 2014, the BJP got 54% of votes and the Congress 34% and won only two seats. The Congress’s performance was better in 2009 when it got 12 seats and received more than 40% of votes. The BJP got 43%.
In 2004, the Congress won only four seats and got 34% of votes. The BJP’s vote share was 48%. In the past two elections, the Congress’s vote share was the same as it was in 2004.
The Congress lost the mandate of those who voted for the party in 2009. The last time when the Congress’s vote share was higher than that of the BJP was in 1991. The Congress’s vote share was 45%, and it was 42% for the BJP.
Afterwards, the Congress has always been behind the BJP. The Congress ruled the state during the four Lok Sabha elections – 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2019.
Although the Congress was in power in the state during these years, the BJP was ahead of its rival in vote share. The Congress leaders also feel that after the defeat in the assembly election, it will be difficult for the party to take on the ruling party with full strength in the Lok Sabha election.
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