As of now, the BJP has declared 434 candidates, more than it did in the general elections of 2009, 2014, and 2019.
Now, 88 seats spread across 12 states and one Union Territory are participating in the second round of election. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was forced to encourage its cadre to step up outreach due to a decline in first-phase voter turnout.
The party is running for more seats than it did in 2014 and 2019 in an effort to surpass its goal of 50% of the vote overall. As of now, the BJP has declared 434 candidates, more than it did in the general elections of 2009, 2014, and 2019.
In 2009, BJP contested 433 seats, winning 116. In 2014, it fought 428 seats, winning 282. In 2019, it contested 436 seats, winning 303. The party still has to announce seats in Maharashtra.
The party’s decision to run for additional seats is mostly due to the fact that it does not need to accommodate partners like the Shiv Sena (UBT) in Maharashtra and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab.
Previously, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was part of the NDA, but this time the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena is part of the BJP-led alliance.
Of the 40 seats in Bihar in 2019, the BJP ran for sixteen, while its ally the Janata Dal (United) ran for 17. It’s challenging another one this time. According to the terms of their seat-sharing arrangement with the Shiv Sena, the party ran for 25 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, 3 of the 13 seats in Punjab, and 10 seats against its former ally, the SAD. To date, the party has declared 24 candidates for Maharashtra and 9 for Punjab.
The BJP contested five seats in Tamil Nadu’s 39-member legislature in 2019 as an ally of the AIADMK-led NDA. It was contested 23 this time. The BJP is running for 16 of Kerala’s 20 seats, one more than in 2019.
The party won’t contest any of the three seats in the Kashmir Valley but has named a candidate for Ladakh.
All eyes, however, are on Maharashtra, where the announcement on a few seats, including Thane, Nashik, Aurangabad, Mumbai South, Mumbai North-West, and Mumbai North Central, Kalyan and Thane, has been delayed due to hurried discussions and negotiations with the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction).
The BJP has not yet announced candidates for two seats in Uttar Pradesh – Rae Bareilly and Kaiserganj.
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