In his speech after the BJP swept to power in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a victory of the poor, the deprived and the tribals, among others. The acknowledgment is with a reason — aspirational districts, some of the most backward in the country, and constituencies reserved for tribals have fuelled the BJP’s win in the three states whose results were declared on Sunday.
Of the 112 aspirational districts identified by the government, 26 are spread across the four states and account for 81 Assembly seats — Madhya Pradesh (35 seats), Chhattisgarh (21), Rajasthan (17) and Telangana (8). The BJP won 52 of these 81 seats, doubling its 2018 tally of 23, while the Congress managed to win only 24 seats in the aspirational districts, down from the 52 it won in 2018.
Launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2018, the Aspirational District Programme identified 112 districts, where the NITI Aayog monitors the progress under five broad socio-economic themes — health & nutrition, education, agriculture & water resources, financial inclusion & skill development, and infrastructure.
As the results show, over two-thirds of the seats in 26 districts across four states have gone to the BJP.
In MP, the BJP won 30 of 35 seats in the Aspirational Districts, while the remaining five went to Congress. In Rajasthan, the BJP won 10 of the 17 seats in these districts, while the Congress and BSP won six and one respectively. In Chhattisgarh, the BJP won 11 of the 21 seats in the Aspirational Districts, while the Congress won 9 and one went to the Gondwana Ganatantra Party (GGP). Of 8 seats in Aspirational Districts in Telangana, Congress won 4, BRS 2, and the BJP and CPI one each.
Of the 52 seats that the BJP won in these districts, 33 are new seats while 19 are seats that it retained from 2018. The Congress could retain just 19 of the 52 seats that it won across these districts in 2018.
Like Aspirational Districts, the tribal belts across MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan too have given a push to the BJP.
Of the 101 seats reserved for STs in the three states – 47/230 in MP, 29/90 in Chhattisgarh and 25/200 in Rajasthan – the BJP has won 56 seats, almost doubling its tally from 2018, when it won just 29. The Congress tally in these states stands at 40, down from 66 seats in 2018. The remaining ST seats have gone to new entrants, including Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP), which has won four seats across these states, and the Gondwana Ganatantra Party, which has won one seat in Chhattisgarh.
In the 2013 elections, when the Congress lost all the three states, the BJP had won 60 ST seats, most of these in MP and Rajasthan. In Chhattisgarh, however, the party trailed behind the Congress, which had won 18 of the 29 ST seats.
However, the BJP’s performance in the tribal belts of these states is not as robust as its tally in the rest of the state. While the party has won 71% of all seats in MP, it won only 57% of tribal seats in the state. Similarly, in Rajasthan, where the BJP won 58% of all seats, it won in only 48% of tribal seats. It is only in Chhattisgarh that the party’s performance matches its performance in the tribal belts – it won 60% of all seats and 58% of all ST seats in the state.
Conversely, the Congress, which won only 29% of the seats in MP, has won 40% of the tribal seats in the state. In Rajasthan, the party won 35% of seats in the state but almost 48% of tribal seats. Even in Chhattisgarh, the Congress’s performance in the state almost matches its performance in tribal seats at 39% and 38% respectively.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves at the crowd at BJP headquarters in New Delhi. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal) 
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