BJP plays the ‘wait and watch’ game

The BJP has so far announced 434 candidates, which is higher than the numbers in 2009, 2014 and 2019 general elections

The second phase of polling for 88 constituencies across 12 states and one Union Territory is underway today. A dip in the voter turnout in the first phase compelled the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to push its cadre to intensify outreach.

A BJP campaign rally in Telangana on Thursday. (Photo from X)

The party has set itself a target of increasing its overall vote share to 50%, and it’s also contesting more seats than it did in 2014 and 2019. The BJP has so far announced 434 candidates, which is higher than the numbers in 2009, 2014 and 2019 general elections.

In 2009, it contested 433 seats and won 116 and in 2014, it fought 428 seats and won 282 and in 2019 it contested 436 seats, winning 303. The party is yet to announce a few more seats in Maharashtra.

One of the key reasons for the party contesting more seats is that it does not have to accommodate allies such as the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Shiv Sena (UBT) in Punjab and Maharashtra, respectively.

Earlier, the SAD was a part of the NDA, while this time the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena is part of the BJP-led alliance.

In 2019, the BJP contested 16 of the 40 seats in Bihar, while its ally, the Janata Dal (United), contested 17. This time, it is contesting one more. In Maharashtra, as per the seat sharing agreement with the Shiv Sena, the party contested 25 of the 48 seats, while in Punjab, it fought from 3 of the 13 seats, while its then ally, the SAD, contested on 10. This time the party has announced 9 candidates in Punjab so far and 24 in Maharashtra.

In Tamil Nadu, which sends 39 lawmakers to Parliament, the BJP contested 5 seats as an ally of the AIADMK-led NDA in 2019. This time it contested 23. In Kerala, the BJP is contesting 16 of the 20 seats, which is one more than 2019.

The party will not contest any of the three seats in the Kashmir Valley but has named a candidate for Ladakh.

All eyes, however, are on the announcement in Maharashtra where last minute discussions and negotiations with the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) have held up the announcement on a few seats, including Thane, Nashik, Aurangabad, Mumbai South, Mumbai North-West, and Mumbai North Central, Kalyan and Thane.

The BJP is also yet to announce candidates for two seats in Uttar Pradesh – Rae Bareilly and Kaiserganj.