Why heartland could turn out to be hurtland for BJP
TNN | Updated: Dec 12, 2018, 08:09 ISTHighlights
- A mapping of the assembly segments onto the relevant parliamentary seats suggests that the BJP would still win 17 out of 29 in MP and 13 out of 25 in Rajasthan, but get almost wiped out in Chhattisgarh winning just one of the state’s 11 seats if voters stuck to the choices they have made in these assembly elections
Representative imageWhat would happen in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls if voters stuck to their party preferences? A mapping of the assembly segments onto the relevant parliamentary seats suggests that the BJP would still win 17 out of 29 in MP and 13 out of 25 in Rajasthan, but get almost wiped out in Chhattisgarh winning just one of the state’s 11 seats.
But does such a mapping make sense? Past experience suggests it is not a bad rough guide. These states have held assembly polls barely six months or less ahead of the Lok Sabha polls of 2004, 2009 and 2014. In each case, their verdict in the parliamentary seats has more or less mirrored the assembly outcome. The sole exception is Rajasthan in 2004, when it gave the BJP 20 of 25 Lok Sabha seats despite having defeated the party in the December 2003 assembly polls.
If the pattern holds, that could be really bad news for the BJP since it had won all 25 seats in Rajasthan, 27 of 29 seats in MP and 10 of 11 seats in Chhattisgarh in 2014. That’s a total of 62 out of 65 Lok Sabha seats. The current mapping suggests that number could come down to 31, half of the 2014 tally. Of course, the Congress tally would rise correspondingly. Given that the 2014 performance would be hard to repeat in Uttar Pradesh anyway, this is a loss the BJP can ill afford.
But does such a mapping make sense? Past experience suggests it is not a bad rough guide. These states have held assembly polls barely six months or less ahead of the Lok Sabha polls of 2004, 2009 and 2014. In each case, their verdict in the parliamentary seats has more or less mirrored the assembly outcome. The sole exception is Rajasthan in 2004, when it gave the BJP 20 of 25 Lok Sabha seats despite having defeated the party in the December 2003 assembly polls.
If the pattern holds, that could be really bad news for the BJP since it had won all 25 seats in Rajasthan, 27 of 29 seats in MP and 10 of 11 seats in Chhattisgarh in 2014. That’s a total of 62 out of 65 Lok Sabha seats. The current mapping suggests that number could come down to 31, half of the 2014 tally. Of course, the Congress tally would rise correspondingly. Given that the 2014 performance would be hard to repeat in Uttar Pradesh anyway, this is a loss the BJP can ill afford.
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