2022: A year of electoral records and few hiccups for BJP

It was a year in which Bharatiya Janata Party asserted its political dominance creating new electoral records but it was not a clean sweep for the party as it lost two elections towards the end of the year.

The coming year is crucial for BJP for its desire to register its third successive general election victory in 2024 as nine states will face assembly polls in 2023.

BJP's strong journey from 2014, which started with a majority in the Lok Sabha polls, has seen the party winning new states. The party improved its tally in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has been going strong.

The BJP has high stakes in the assembly polls next year and will hope to carry its winning momentum.

While the BJP successfully braced the challenge in Uttar Pradesh earlier this year to win the state second time in a row, it scripted history in Gujarat earlier this month in its seventh successive victory in the state and with a margin that left its principal opponent Congress in tatters. Gujarat is the home state of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. BJP won an unprecedented 156 of 182 seats in the state, surpassing the record of Congress which had won 149 seats in 1985.

But the BJP was voted out in Himachal Pradesh with Congress regaining the hill state on the basis of its populist promises and an election strategy that focused on local issues. The BJP also lost the MCD polls to Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi.

Five states went to the polls in February-March and the challenge was steeper for BJP as it was in power in four of five states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. With Shiromani Akali Dal, its traditional ally parting ways, the BJP tried a new combination in Punjab, tying up with the party floated by former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and with the party of former union minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa but could not do much. The ruling Congress was defeated resoundingly in Punjab and Aam Aadmi Party won the state for the first time.

Victory in Uttar Pradesh, the state with the largest number of assembly and parliament seats, was especially significant for BJP in terms of its national ambitions. The party also broke the tradition of alternate governments in Uttarakhand retaining the hill state against several odds. Like Gujarat, the party had changed chief ministers in the state and emerged victorious.

In Goa, the BJP responded to the challenge posed by Congress and Aam Aadmi Party and came back to power.

The victory was equally sweet in Manipur, an erstwhile Congress stronghold, with the BJP further establishing its hold in the northeast.

The results in bypolls to the assembly and Lok Sabha seats were mixed for the BJP with the party winning some seats and losing others to its rivals.

The party also forged new political equations in Maharashtra even as JD-U, a key ally in Bihar, left the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ended JD-U's alliance with BJP and rejoined hands with RJD in August this year.

But it was in Maharashtra that BJP outfoxed its rivals by stitching up an alliance with a faction of Shiv Sena following a split in the party. Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray had allied with Congress and NCP after talks with BJP failed on the issue of the Chief Minister's post following the 2019 assembly polls. Uddhav Thackeray became the Chief Minister with the support of the two parties. The split in Shiv Sena left the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance without a majority paving the way for the formation of a government with the support of the BJP. The two factions of Shiv Sena are now fighting a legal battle for the party symbol.

Nominees of the BJP-led NDA also won the presidential and vice-presidential elections held earlier this year.

The challenge for BJP is now the assembly elections next year in Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana.

Jammu and Kashmir may also go for polls next year.

With the Aam Aadmi Party digging into votes of Congress in Gujarat, it may impact Congress prospects in some states going to the polls next year.

Among the bigger states, the BJP faces major challenges in party-ruled Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh even as it is seeking to oust the TRS (now Bharat Rashtra Samithi) in Telangana and Congress in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

Even though BJP lost Himachal Pradesh and MCD polls in Delhi, it put up a strong performance. The party lost Himachal Pradesh by a small vote margin.

As it looks to the challenges ahead, BJP is expected to continue with its diligent and methodical electoral planning and concerted campaign by its top leaders as it seeks to expand in new areas while consolidating in states where it is a key player.

( With inputs from ANI )

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