Lok Sabha election 2019: INLD's vote share plummets, party stares at evaporation

File Pic: Om Prakash Chautala

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on May 23 registered a resounding victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, to retain power. The ruling alliance won over 350 seats while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) itself won 303 seats.

This left the Opposition decimated in most parts of the country, especially in the ‘Hindi heartland’.

One of the states that the BJP swept was Haryana. The saffron party won all of the 10 parliamentary seats in the state.

BJP’s vote share significantly increased as compared to 2014. A closer look at the numbers shows that the BJP’s sweep was not at the expense of the Congress, but at the expense of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

INLD’s breakaway faction, the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), also failed to win a single seat. Except for JJP founder Dushyant Chautala, all of the party’s candidates lost their deposits.

Also read: Dynasty Watch | The Chautalas of Haryana battle infighting and hurt egos going into LS polls

The BJP secured a vote share of 58 percent followed by Congress’ 28.4 percent. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) garnered 3.6 percent of the votes, significantly higher than INLD’s 1.8 percent.

In 2014, BJP had won seven out of the 10 seats, up from none in 2009. In the 2009 general election, Congress had bagged nine seats here. However, in 2014, its tally fell to just one. INLD won the remaining two seats in 2014.

Haryana

In terms of vote share, the Congress was placed behind the INLD. BJP won 34.8 percent of the votes. INLD and Congress secured 24.4 percent and 23 percent votes, respectively.

AAP, which was making its debut in the state, failed to win a single seat despite securing 4.3 percent of the votes.

In the 2014 Assembly election, that happened a few months after the Lok Sabha election, BJP won 33.3 percent votes. INLD and the Congress won 24.2 percent and 20.7 percent votes, respectively.

Haryana Vote Share

The numbers clearly show that INLD’s vote share plummeted this election.

Also read: Data Story | Opposition unity could have stopped BJP sweep in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh

The result is likely to have a bearing on the Assembly election slated for later this year. A BJP government led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is governing the state.