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NDA - 334 UPA - 60: Why Narendra Modi's win, and Congress defeat in Lok Sabha Elections 2014 is historic

Written By DNA Web Team | Updated: May 17, 2014, 03:40 PM IST

Narendra Modi has proved in letter and spirit what Napoleon Bonaparte said: "Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools... Victory belongs to the most persevering."

The BJP's prime ministerial candidate has made history. Securing a resounding victory in the latest Indian parliamentary elections, he has proved wrong all the prophets of doom. The absolute majority for his party on its own is a first in 30 years. The larger National Democratic Alliance (NDA), in fact, has crossed the 300-seat mark.

Modi termed this historic win as a victory of people of India and the Indian democracy with an assurance to the 125 million people: "Achchhe Din Aane Wale Hain" -- or good times are ahead.

Most political pundits in the country, since 1996, had ruled out the possibility of a single-party majority in any future election, saying the era of coalition governments is going to stay in India for ever.

But the people were determined to give a decisive mandate to a leader who could usher in a new regime of a stable government at the Centre -- a pre-requisite for all-round growth and development for an emerging economy like India where one-third of the population is still below the poverty line.

 

The results are before us. Modi has emerged as a symbol of hope for the youth of this country. People have posed unwavering confidence in his leadership. He will now have to meet their expectations by taking some radical measures to ensure political stability, economic growth and transparency in governance -- the three promises he made to the people during his hectic whirlwind campaign throughout the length and breadth of the country in the last more than six months.

The moot question is: What has Modi achieved, and how has he accomplished this near-impossible task?

He swept the entire western belt by bagging some 120 out of the 130 seats in Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The people of Gujarat have given a unique gift to their son of the soil by putting all the 26 seats in his kitty -- a feat achieved for the first time by any political party since Independence.

Modi himself won by a record margin of over 500,000 votes from Vadodara. All senior BJP leaders from Gujarat, including L.K. Advani, retained their seats. So did Sushma Swaraj from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje, who registered a remarkable victory in the assembly elections six months ago, also hit the bull's eye, scoring 25 out of 25 in her state.

Veteran BJP leader Jaswant Singh, who contested as an Independent after being denied the ticket, lost in Barmer.

Other chief ministers also scored well for the party: Shivraj Singh Chauhan -- 27 out of 29 in Madhya Pradesh; Manohar Parikar -- two out of two in Goa; and Raman Singh -- nine out of 11 in Chhattisgarh. They all made valuable contributions for BJP's absolute majority and make it the first non-Congress political party to cross the half-way mark since Independence.

It was predicted by many analysts that a Modi wave was sweeping across western India. But no one believed that the BJP-Shiv Sena combine would virtually decimate the Congress-NCP alliance in Maharashtra. Even stalwarts like Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde fell -- a rude shock to the Congress high command and Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar. The BJP-Shiv Sena-RPI alliance won 42 of the 48 seats, with all the big guns registering convincing victory, notable among them being Nitin Gadkari and Gopinath Munde.

There were conflicting assessments about the BJP in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Amit Shah's claim that the Modi wave did exist in that part of the country as well, and that the party would win more than 65 seats. Shah's social engineering and his shrewd planning and untiring ground work in the interiors of the state proved him right. Cutting across caste and religion barriers, BJP has achieved the most resounding victory in the state improving on its tally from 10 in 2009 to a whopping 71.

Top leaders like Modi himself from Varanasi, Rajnath Singh from Lucknow, Murli Manohar Joshi from Kanpur, Varun Gandhi from Sultanpur and his mother Maneka Gandhi from Pilibhit were all re-elected with comfortable margins.

The story is no different in Bihar where reports of a Lalu Yadav-led RJD's resurgence stopping the Modi-wave proved to be a myth. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JDU, which was in tatters after breaking its alliance with the BJP in the state, failed to make a mark. This has cast a shadow on Nitish's political future. The BJP-LJP alliance won 23 of the 40 seats in the state. Even Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar of Congress lost.

In the north, Punjab was the only state where the BJP conceded ground to the Congress. Its senior leader Arun Jaitley lost to the Congress heavy-weight and former chief minister Amarinder Singh. This was more a result of serious anti-incumbency of the Akali-BJP government of Parkash Singh Badal. It is here that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Arvind Kejriwal registered its presence in a big way. The BJP-Akali combine won just six seats in Punjab.

The BJP also made major gains in Delhi, with seven out of seven, Jammu and Kashmir with two seats out of six, Uttarakhand with five out of five, Himachal Pradesh with four out of four. It also secured the lone Chandigarh seat, seven in Haryana out of ten, 12 in Jharkhand of 14 and nine in Chhattisgarh out of 11 -- all of them a result of the Modi wave.

The NDA's performance in the south and the east was along expected lines. The party was expecting to open its account in Kerala but its senior leader O. Rajagopal once again failed to win Thiruvananthapuram by a narrow margin.

AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalitha's performance in Tamil Nadu is commendable. She has won 38 of the 39 seats in the state and did not allow its arch rival DMK to even open its account. The NDA alliance of BJP, PMK, MDMK and a few other smaller parties too failed to take off in Tamil Nadu.

The last minute entry of TDP into the NDA proved to be a master stroke with N. Chandrababu Naidu making a remarkable comeback in Seemandhra. The TDP-BJP combine won 17 seats in Seemandhra and Telangana regions. The YSR Congress and the TRS, too, did well -- all at the cost of the Congress party.

Coming to Odisha, which was considered a potential battle ground for the BJP, Narendra Modi's vigorous campaign did help the BJP to take its vote share to new heights, though the party could manage only two seats. But the Modi wave has prepared the ground for a rich harvest by the BJP in future.

Similarly in West Bengal -- where the BJP's vote percentage in the 2009 Lok Sabha poll was in single digit, Modi's concerted campaign has done wonders in terms of generating a Modi wave. Although the party could win only three seats, the BJP has certainly emerged as a formidable alternative to Mamata's Trinamool Congress in the state with the Left Front almost vanishing from the political scene in the state. The TMC has won more than 30 seats which is a high score by any standard.

Assam results have been encouraging as well, especially because the BJP refused to enter into alliance with any political party. Victory in seven parliamentary seats is a rich harvest by any reckoning. The North-East has gone along predicted lines with regional parties bagging practically all the seats.

The Congress party's performance, along with its allies, has been dismal throughout the country. Almost all the senior leaders and union cabinet ministers have lost, barring a few.

Same has been the fate of regional parties like the SP, BSP, NC, DMK, JD-U, JD(S) and others. The Left Front, too, has bitten dust in its traditional bastion of West Bengal.

There is no doubt that Narendra Modi has written a new chapter in the 65-year history of Indian parliamentary democracy. The entire world watched with keen interest this peaceful transition. The change through ballot has strengthened people's faith in democracy. India has emerged on the global map as a vibrant democracy.

Now it is time for Narendra Modi to emerge as a global leader to take India on the path of becoming a super power in every sense of the term. His testing time starts now.

*BJP star candidate Hema Malini won from Mathura defeating Jayant Chaudhary of the RLD

*Modi: Even little children have been saying 'ab ki baar Modi sarkar' This means I have an army for polls 15 years later

Watch Narendra Modi talk LIVE here:

*Celebrities welcome Narendra Modi, hail new wave in Indian politics

*I did barely 1 rally here but you have given me such affection: Narendra Modi

*We have to take everyone together to run the nation: Narendra Modi

*If there was no Gaekwad there would not have been a Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Narendra Modi in Vadodara

*People have given us a clear mandate and supported NDA

*We believe in Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas: Narendra Modi

*People have given us a clear mandate and supported NDA: Narendra Modi

*I am Mazdoor Number 1. In coming 60 months I will dedicate every moment of my time to the people: Narendra Modi

*Dimple yadav, wife of UP CM Akhilesh yadav wins from Kannauj defeating Subrat Pathak of the BJP

 *Maharashtra rejects Raj Thackeray's brand of politics

*This verdict is about taking the nation forward and working hard for the dreams of the people: Narendra Modi in Vadodara

*A government does not belong to any party but to the nation. It does not belong to few people but each and every Indian: Narendra Modi

*We never had the honour to die for the nation. But we have got a chance to live for Surajya: Narendra Modi in Vadodara

*Be it Congress or BJP, in this election the leaders were those who have been born in a free India: Narendra Modi in Vadodara

*Ours is a party that has fought Congress and believed in patriotism and it has been able to secure blessings of people: Narendra Modi

*In the history of India this is the 1st time a Party other than the Congress has secured a majority on its own: Narendra Modi in Vadodara

*There were 7 by-polls in Gujarat where 6 were with Congress. Today BJP has won in 4: Narendra Modi in Vadodara

*Gujarat has a record to its credit- 26 out of 26. When we used to talk about this people laughed: Narendra Modi

*In the history of elections such a margin has not happened in a General Election. I am not talking about any by-election: Narendra ModiVadodara has given me a margin of 5.70 lakh votes even after I spent only 50 minutes after filing nomination here: Modi.

*In the history of elections such a margin has not happened in a General Election. I am not talking about any by-election: Narendra Modi

*Vadodara has given me a margin of 5.70 lakh votes even after I spent only 50 minutes after filing nomination here: Modi.

*I did not have the honour to talk in Varanasi but still Modi's silence was accepted by people of Varanasi: Narendra Modi

*This was first time a candidate did not get a chance to meet voters. Varanasi voted for Modi's Maun: Narendra Modi

*Each and every voter gave me so much affection. You all worked as if you are Narendra Modi: Narendra Modi in Vadodara

*You have elected me with a record margin from here: Narendra Modi in Vadodara

*How are you all feeling? Ache Din (Crowd says Aane Wale Hain). I have come here to thank you all: Narendra Modi in Vadodara

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*People of Vadodara have set a record with victory margin of 5.7 lakh in general elections. 

*Narendra Modi says: Ache din aane waale hain while addressing a rally

* In these elections, two important things happened with me: 1: I had to curtail time and give only fifty minutes to Vadodara but you people made me win. I am thankful to people of Vadodara. You have given me love and the vote, each of you is Narendra Modi

*I am thankful to all of you for having fulfilled your responsibilities.  

*People of Varanasi trusted my silence when EC did not give me permission. They have supported me and these two are two main important political events in modern India. 

*President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee (INC) wins from Jangipur

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde loses from Solapur, Maharashtra NOTA polled more (51 lakh) votes than 27 parties in Elections 2014 Role of senior BJP leaders to be decided collectively: Rajnath Singh

An elated Rajnath Singh today gave credit to the party and persona of Narendra Modi for the spectacular performance of BJP in the elections and said role of senior party leaders including LK Advani would be decided collectively and with consensus. "I am happy and satisfied. It is people's mandate for change and it is a mandate for Modi's popularity... Time has come to re-write Indian success story,"

BJP president Singh said as the BJP-led NDA is set to come to power at the Centre after defeating Congress-led UPA. "The role of senior BJP leaders including LK Advani would be taken after meeting of the central parliamentary board," he said to repeated questions on the responsibility of leaders like Advani and Sushma Swaraj in the new government.

*Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina congratulates Narendra Modi, invites him to visit

*Trinamool Congress to play greater constructive role in country: Mamata Banerjee

After putting up a brilliant performance in the Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress said on Friday it would play a greater constructive role in the country. Party chief Mamata Banerjee claimed that the success came despite "malicious campaign" launched by a section of the media against which the party fought single-handedly.

"We will play a greater constructive role in the country. We thank the people and at the end of it, it is the people who has emerged as the 'Man of the Match'," Banerjee said. "We are for harmony of all castes, religions and creeds. We are in favour of economic stability, financial stability and political stability," she said.

*Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wishes Narendra Modi on his big win

*Azharuddin loses from tonk in Rajasthan with a 135000

*Many in India tune it to Narendra Modi, others protest

Family members were glued to the television, working class were getting regular updates from social networking sites, vendors and shopkeepers were tuned to radio, and a few were calling up their homes to know who will be India's next prime minister. India took up to different sources to stay informed, and many broke into celebrations with the news of BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections.

As it became clear during the first few hours of voting that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was poised to form the government, Mukesh Paul, 53, a resident from Dwarka, an ardent BJP supporter, broke into celebrations with his colony residents.

*I can't offer congratulations to @narendramodi. I am not an opportunist: Lalu Prasad Yadav