Lok Sabha Polls 2024 Kick Off: Nation Gears Up for Epic Electoral Battle

The first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections commenced today, with over 16.63 crore voters, including 35.67 lakh first-time voters, exercising their constitutional right across 1.87 lakh polling booths. This seven-phase electoral exercise, spanning 44 days, will ultimately decide the composition of the next government at the centre. The opening phase of the polls witnessed a high-stakes contest in several key states, with a total of 102 seats across 21 states and union territories going to the polls. The battle lines have been drawn, with the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) facing challenge from the newly formed opposition coalition, INDIA led by the Congress party.

The NDA, campaigning heavily on the "Modi factor" and its strong support base in the Hindi heartland, aims to replicate its previous success and secure a third consecutive term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the other hand, the INDIA bloc has confidence to bring a wave of change driven by issues such as unemployment, cost of living crisis, and concerns over the condition of religious and socio-economic minorities.

Political pundits suggest that the outcome of this election could affect the performance of the alliances in key states. Here is that section in simpler language: While the NDA alliance led by BJP is hoping to do better in the southern states in addition to its expected strong performance in the northern Hindi-speaking states, the INDIA opposition alliance is aiming to make major gains in the BJP's northern strongholds. At the same time, INDIA wants to continue its dominance in the southern states, where the BJP has generally struggled to gain votes except for Karnataka. 

Despite the potential challenges, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely expected to secure a third consecutive term. The BJP has set an ambitious target of winning over 400 seats, 47 more than its tally in the previous election, while the party's personal goal is to secure 370 seats, 63 seats higher than the last time.

In the 2019 general elections, the then-Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) managed to secure only 90 seats, highlighting the uphill battle faced by the opposition in the BJP's dominance. The first phase of voting witnessed a diverse range of constituencies going to the polls. All 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, where the BJP has historically struggled, and 12 out of 25 seats in Rajasthan, including high-profile constituencies like Bikaner, Alwar, Jaipur, and Jaipur Rural, were up for grabs. Additionally, eight seats in Uttar Pradesh, a state dominated by the BJP in recent polls, also witnessed voting.

Other significant states and union territories that participated in the first phase included Madhya Pradesh (6 seats), Uttarakhand (5 seats), Maharashtra (5 seats), Assam (5 seats), Bihar (4 seats), West Bengal (3 seats), and the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, and Tripura (9 seats). 

Notably, in Tamil Nadu, a three-way contest emerged between the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the opposition BJP, and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which parted ways with the BJP last year. The BJP's performance in this state, where it garnered less than 3.7% of the votes in 2019, will be closely watched as part of its "Mission South" push.