BJP on way to rule 12 states on its own, Congress down to 3

The Congress will now be in power in three states on its own - Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers celebrate as the party leads in the Rajasthan Assembly elections.(Photo 

NEW DELHI: With the BJP heading towards victory in three out of the four states that went to polls recently, the party will now be in power in 12 states on its own, while the Congress, the second largest national party, will come down to three after losing Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

The Aam Aadmi Party, with its government in Delhi and Punjab, is third among national parties.

The BJP, which rules the centre, is in power in Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and is all set to get Madhya Pradesh back and snatch Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the Congress after today's vote count.

Besides, BJP is also part of the ruling coalition in four states - Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Sikkim.

The Congress will now be in power in three states on its own - Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana, where it's on its way to victory, defeating its closest rival, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

Elections LIVE | Congress celebrates Telangana victory; BJP set to win Chhattisgarh, MP, Rajasthan

The Congress is also part of the ruling coalition in Bihar and Jharkhand and is an ally of the DMK which rules Tamil Nadu, however, it is not a part of the state government.

The results also consolidated AAP's position as a major Opposition party, making it the second biggest Opposition party with government in two states, as Congress' share declined.

"After today's results, Aam Aadmi Party emerges as the largest opposition party in north India with two state governments - Punjab and Delhi," AAP leader Jasmine Shah said in a post on X.

India, at present, has six national parties - BJP, Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), CPI(M), National People's Party (NPP), and AAP.

The next round of assembly polls will be held in 2024, when Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh will go to polls.

Assembly polls are also pending for Jammu and Kashmir.

As several sitting MPs contested assembly polls in this round, those seats in Lok Sabha are expected to get vacant.

However, since the General Election is to be held next year, no bypolls will be held even if MPs vacate seats on being elected as MLA.