Low vote share, big wins: 1 in 3 MPs in 2024 won with 30% or less of total votes

Among the 542 constituencies (excluding Surat, where the BJP candidate won unopposed), eight won with more than 10% to less than or equal to 20% votes of the total voters in their constituencies, 170 won with more than 20% to less than or equal to 30%, 266 members won with over 30% to less than or equal to 40%, and 92 members won with over 40% to less than or equal to 50% votes of the total electors in their constituencies in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Only six MPs were elected by bagging over 50% of the votes of the total electors in their constituencies.

Of the 178 candidates who won by getting 30% or less votes, the maximum of 65 were from Uttar Pradesh, followed by Bihar (30) and Maharashtra (24).

As far as the number of winning candidates’ vote percentage over the total valid votes cast in their respective constituencies are concerned, five candidates won by getting 30% or less vote share, while 28 won with more than 30% to less than or equal to 40% vote share; 230 won with over 40% to less than or equal to 50%; 215 candidates won with over 50% to less than 60%; 57 candidates got more than 60% to less than or equal to 70% votes, and only seven candidates got more than 70% of the votes.

Sharing an insight on the votes polled in favour of national parties, the EC noted that six national parties : AAP, BSP, BJP, CPI(M), Congress, and National People’s Party — participated in the LS polls 2024 and the total vote share of these six parties was 63.35% of total valid votes.

According to the EC, 7,190 candidates forfeited the deposits in 2024, as compared to 6,923 in 2019. A total of 3,921 Independent candidates contested

and only seven of them were elected, while 3,905 independent candidates forfeited their deposits, it said.

In absolute terms, the BJP got 23.59 crore votes, followed by Congress’s 13.67 crore, and SP’s 2.95 crore votes.