The year 2022 was a year of record victories and few defeats for the BJP. It did maintain its political dominance. But, the party lost two crucial elections till the end of 2022. Also, it got a new potential challenge in the form of AAP.
While the new year 2023, shall be significant for BJP. If it wants to win a third successive win in the Lok Sabha elections, it needs to perform well in the 2023 state polls in 9 states. BJP began the year with a strong victory. It won 4 out of 5 states for the second consecutive term. Also, it won new seats maintaining its majority in the lower house of Parliament. Moreover, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership has been doing good for the party.
Election performance of BJP in 2022
The biggest victory for BJP among the 5 states was Uttar Party. The saffron party won the state for the second consecutive term. Also, by the end of the year, it has created history by winning the 7th consecutive term in Gujarat. The huge margin of win for the BJP left its main opponent Congress far behind by winning 156 of 182 seats.
But, the party could not win back Himachal Pradesh. Interestingly, Congress got its hands on the victory in the hill state. At the same time, BJP lost the MCD polls in Delhi to AAP.
Change in Punjab Politics for BJP
Similar to the previous time, BJP was not able to win Punjab again. Although, it did register a victory in the other four. However, there were some situational changes for BJP in Punjab. BJP parted ways with its traditional ally Shiromani Akali Dal.
Still, this time BJP tried a new alliance with Former CM Capt Amarinder Singh and his newly formed party. Although, they could not bring any significant results. Later, he merged his party with BJP. But, the ruling party of Congress was also defeated in Punjab. While the AAP got a chance to form its government for the first time in the state.
Significance of Victories
The BJP’s biggest victories came with Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. It strengthened the dominance of the BJP. Also, it gave fuel to the national ambitions of the BJP for 2024. Alongside, the party broke the record of Uttarakhand forming an alternative government in every election. The saffron party registered a consecutive victory in the state.
For its home state Gujarat, BJP changed its CM and Cabinet some time back. Still, the party managed to register a thundering victory with a record number of seats for the 7th consecutive time. It became a testimony to BJP and PM Narendra Modi’s popularity in the state. For Goa, the BJP emerged victorious against AAP, TMC, and Congress. In Manipur, the sweet victory against the dominant Congress gave it a boost in the northeast.
The by-polls to assemblies and Lok sabha brought mixed results. In Maharashtra, BJP made a new political equation with Eknath Shinde and his allies who left Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray. For Bihar, Nitish’s JD(U) broke an alliance with BJP and formed a government with the RJD.
Upcoming challenges in 2023
The new year of 2023, brings new challenges for the BJP. There are significant assembly elections in the states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, and Telangana.
There is a possibility that Jammu and Kashmir might undergo elections too.
The biggest challenges for BJP lie in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Also, it is eyeing to win Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan from TRS and Congress
Summing up,
With the challenges-filled year for BJP, the party shall continue to use new strategies along with its old tactics. Like every election, the party is expected to work on planning campaigns by its top leaders including PM Modi to win majority states. The performance of the BJP in 2023, will have a vital impact on its journey for the 2024 national polls.
