NEW DELHI, OCT 11: The Congress has grabbed 28.42 per cent of the national vote but won only 112 Lok Sabha seats, as against the 23.70 per cent votes gathered by the BJP with 182 seats in the just-concluded general elections.But a closer look at the vote share of the two dominant political parties in the seats contested by them reveals that the BJP has a clear edge over its Congress rival.The Bharatiya Janata Party contested 339 seats for which its vote share is 39.67 per cent as against the 453 candidates fielded by the Congress who earned 33.93 per cent of the votes polled.With the poll process completed in 537 of the 543 elected seats in the Lok Sabha, the Election Commission today released preliminary figures on the polls, with the caveat that the final all India statistics would be available only after the poll process is completed in the remaining six constituencies, four in Bihar and one each in Assam and Manipur.The thirteenth Lok Sabha will also have 47 women members of Parliament, fourmore than their strength in the last House. Of 277 women contestants in the fray this time, 47 were elected, earning them a success rate of 16.96 per cent. There were 3,977 male candidates, of whom 490 were elected, marking a success rate of 12.83 per cent, clearly indicating that women had greater chances of winning the polls if only the political parties were to field them.The statistics threw up a lot of interesting numbers. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP contested 77 seats, won 29 of them while gaining 27.92 per cent of the vote. The Congress fielded 76 candidates in the state, winning 10 seats and 14.77 per cent of the votes polled.Voter turnout for the entire country was pegged at 58.6 per cent, with Lakshadweep registering the highest voter turnout with 84.48 per cent, followed closely by four constituencies in West Bengal namely Tamluk, Banskura, Kontai and Arambagh with voter turnouts in the 83 per cent range respectively.There are no surprises as far as lowest voter turnout goes, with the threeLok Sabha constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir at the bottom of the list. Voter turnout in Srinagar was as low as 11.93 per cent, marginally higher at 14.34 per cent in Anantnag and 27.79 in Baramullah.The Communist Party of India (Marxist), with 32 Lok Sabha seats is the third largest political party, but its vote share is a mere 5.38 per cent of the national votes polled. The party had contested 72 seats in 16 states.Next is the Bahujan Samaj Party, which fielded 225 candidates in 16 states. Fourteen BSP candidates won, with the party securing 4.23 per cent of the national votes polled.The Janata Dal (United) won 20 seats, securing a national vote share of 3.05 per cent.The CPI with a mere 1.45 per cent of the national vote share, is in danger of losing its status as a national political party, had fielded 54 candidates in 17 states, of whom only four could make the grade.A similar fate awaits the Janata Dal (Secular) which fielded 96 candidates in 18 states but won only one seat, marking 0.92per cent of the national vote share.
