Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, March 27: After having provided the details of the current political power status in five zones – Northeast, East, Central, North and South – over the last few days with an aim to give the electorates a clearer picture of the country’s political landscape ahead of the 17th Lok Sabha elections,
Eastern Mirror takes you to the sixth and last zone– West comprising the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa and Maharashtra, and two union territories, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and Daman & Diu.
The West zone, which sends 103 MPs to the Lok Sabha, turned into one of the strategic strongholds of the BJP after the party’s exceptional performance in 2014 general elections. However, it was a different story prior to that with the Congress having had a noticeable presence in the region. The Congress bounced back in some BJP-ruled states, including Rajasthan in the assembly elections held last year. So, it is to be seen if BJP will retain its stronghold in the region.
Rajasthan
The state sends 25 MPs to the Lok Sabha. In 2014 general elections, the BJP swept all the 25 seats in the state, increasing its tally from four in 2009. On the other hand, the Congress failed to open its account in the state in the previous general elections after winning 20 seats in 2009.
Against the backdrop of its dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress received the much-needed morale boost by coming to power in the state after the keenly-watched assembly elections held last year. It will be largely a contest between the Congress and BJP again as the state goes to the polls for the 17th Lok Sabha in two phases: on April 29 and May 6.
UPA is currently ruling the state and Ashok Gehlot is the chief minister.
Gujarat
It is the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP swept all the 26 seats of the state in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, a huge leap from 15 seats in 2009. The Congress, which won 11 seats in 2009, drew a blank in 2014. The contest will be primarily between the two national political parties when the state goes to the polls on April 23.
UPA is currently ruling the state and Vijay Rupani is the chief minister.
Maharashtra
The state has 48 parliamentary seats and polling for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will be conducted in four phases: on April 11, 18, 23 and 29. In the previous general elections, the BJP won 23 seats against nine in 2009, Shiv Sena won 18 (11 in 2009), and NCP won four (eight in 2009). The Congress was reduced from 17 seats in 2009 general elections to just two seats in the subsequent polls, and Swabhimani Paksha won one seat. This time, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has also announced that it will enter the election fray in the state by fielding a candidate for Aurangabad parliamentary constituency.
The Congress, NCP, Yuva Swabhimani Paksha, Swabhimani Shetkari Saghtana and Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi have formed an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, while Shiv Sena and BJP are allies.
NDA is currently ruling the state with Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister.
The state has two Lok Sabha seats -- North Goa and South Goa --, and both the constituencies will go to the polls on April 23. The BJP won both the seats in the previous general elections, an improvement from one seat in 2009. The Congress had won one seat in 2009 but collapsed in 2014.
The country’s popular tourist destination is currently ruled by NDA with Pramod Sawant as the chief minister.
The West zone has two union territories -- Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu – with one parliamentary seat each, which the BJP won both in 2009 and 2014. The BJP holds the advantage as the union territories go to the polls for the 17th Lok Sabha on April 23.
It may be mentioned that more than 90 crore people will vote from over one million polling stations to elect 543 MPs. The polling will be held in seven phases starting April 11 till May 19, and the counting of votes will be done on May 23.
