BJP Gets Few Winnable Seats Despite Double-Digit Vote Share In LS Polls
BJP incumbents in most parts of the state are upset about the allotment of seats to the party after it got 11.34 per cent votes while contesting alone in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while the AIADMK got 20.46 per cent votes.
While BJP officials consider only seven seats – Coimbatore North, Thalli, Rasipuram, Avanashi, Madurai South, Sattur, Coimbatore North, Vasudevanallur – as winnable constituencies, there will be close contest in four constituencies – Mylapore, Nagercoil, Radhapuram and Tiruppur South.
They are of the view that if the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) makes an impact, the number of winnable seats may decrease further.
The Congress, which got only 4.37 per cent votes when it contested alone in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, moved heaven and earth and wrested 28 seats from the DMK by openly threatening to join hands with TVK’s Vijay. However, the BJP, which has ruled the country for 12 years, settled for one seat less than the Congress and could not get a seat for Annamalai in Coimbatore, where it pushed the AIADMK to third place in the Lok Sabha elections.
In Chennai, the saffron party got more votes than the AIADMK in 12 of the 16 segments of the Assembly in the Lok Sabha elections but was allocated only to Mylapore. The BJP hopes to win Thalli in Krishnagiri but sees Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Gandharvakottai and Pudukottai as well as Avadi and Tiruvannamalai in the northern region as hopeless seats.
According to the 2024 Lok Sabha statistics, the BJP stood second in seven seats in Coimbatore, besides three seats in the Nilgiris district and Palladam in Tiruppur. Rasipuram and Avanashi, where Union minister L. Murugan is expected to contest, have good support for the BJP and AIADMK.
While the BJP is very strong in the Colachel, Vilavancode and Padmanabhapuram seats in Kanyakumari district, the party will face a tough task as the AIADMK will get only 2-3 per cent votes in the three Assembly segments in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
