Rahul’s Defeat, Pragya’s Victory: 10 Shocks of Election Results

Rahul’s loss in Amethi, Mahagathbandhan’s failure & Pragya Thakur’s win: 10 shocks of election results in 4 minutes.

Rahul’s loss in Amethi, Mahagathbandhan’s failure & Pragya Thakur’s win: 11 shocks of election results in 4 minutes.

(Photo: The Quint)

Bura na mano, Modi hai! Yes, the Modi government is back and the NDA has not just won, it was a historic clean sweep by the BJP since the Independence of India with the NDA bagging over 300 seats. But that's not the only shock – Rahul's loss in Amethi and Pragya Thakur's victory in Bhopal... there are many such huge shocks in the results of the 2019 Lok sabha elections. Brace yourselves!

1. Rahul Gandhi Loses Amethi

Yes, the number 1 shock has to be this. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress lost their fort of Amethi against BJP's Smriti Irani and this has happened for just the third time after independence. It happened once before in 1977 and once in 1998. Smriti Irani, on the other hand, has probably got the BJP one of its most politically important victories this election.

2. Mediocre Mahagathbandhan

Arch rivals SP and BSP joined hands to tackle the Modi wave. They managed to do it to a certain extent but the BJP was clearly able to retain majority of the seats in Uttar Pradesh.

3. Pragya Thakur’s Victory

Pragya Thakur, a terror accused, and a candidate who has called the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi a "deshbhakt" – she did apologise later, yes, but she will now represent the people of the country in the Parliament.

4. Chandrababu Naidu Loses it All

No seats in Telangana, and no seats in Andhra Pradesh either, the latter is being ruled by Chandrababu Naidu and the TDP since 2014.

5. AAP’s Wipe Out in Delhi

Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party has not managed to win a single seat in Delhi. Moreover, Atishi Marlena, one of the strongest candidates of the party, known for her educational reforms, did not just lose against BJP's last minute entrant Gautam Gambhir, but came third in the race, trailing behind even Congress' Arvinder Singh Lovely. And while Gambhir hit a sixer on the last ball, boxer Vijender Singh's punches didn't help the Congress much. Even Sheila Dixit, the three-time chief minister could not win in Delhi.

6. Congress-JD(S)‘s Alliance Failure in Karnataka

Despite the alliance of Congress and the JDS in Karnataka, the BJP has managed to win even bigger than 2014. Even former prime minister HD Deve Gowda lost from the Tumkur constituency.

7. BJP’s Double Digit Score in Bengal

The BJP won 2 seats in West Bengal in 2014 but managed to take it's tally to double digits in Mamata Banerjee's bastion. So the BJP's 'Ebar Bangla' dream has been fulfilled to a certain extent.

8. DMK Resurrects And Kills It!

Yes! Zero seats in 2014 but the DMK, in an alliance with the Congress, has managed a massive win in Tamil Nadu, in its first election without Kalaignar Karunanidhi. Meanwhile, Jayalalithaa's AIADMK, that ruled the state for the past decade has been reduced to single digits.

9. Mehbooba Mufti’s Defeat

Former chief minister of J&K, Mehbooba Mufti not just lost the Anantnag constituency, but came a distant third against the Congress and the J&K National Conference.

10. Congress’ Loss in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh

Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh – the states that saw the Congress making huge gains by the Congress in Assembly elections held in December, saw the Congress suffering bigger losses in the Lok Sabha elections.

Shock after shock after shock, there were many. But as they say, Modi hai toh mumkin hai!