According to the latest trends provided by the Election Commission of India, the Congress party was leading in 97 Lok Sabha seats, bringing a wave of joy and hope among its party workers.
If the party can maintain this trend, it could potentially be headed towards its best performance since 2014. This would be a significant improvement from their past performances, where they won 44 seats in 2014 and 52 in the 2019 election.
In comparison, in 2009, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance had won a total of 206 seats. However, in the last two elections, the Congress faced major defeats, with a significant drop in both seat and vote share. In 2019, the BJP maintained its lead and won a staggering 303 seats on its own and a total of 353 seats with its allies.
The BJP’s strong presence in the Hindi belt played a crucial role in their victory, with wins in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi. In contrast, the Congress struggled to make a mark in this belt, only managing to win a total of six seats on their own and seven with their alliance partner Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. Rahul Gandhi himself suffered a defeat in his long-held constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. However, with the current trends favoring the Congress party, there is renewed hope for them to make a strong comeback and potentially perform better than their previous showings.