Fifteen parties participated in the Opposition's first such unity meeting for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Of the 15, only three are recognised by the Election Commission in the latest revision as national parties - the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and CPI(M). To be a national party, a party needs to be ‘recognised’ in four or more states; its candidates ought to have polled at least 6% of the total valid votes in any four or more states in the last Lok Sabha or Assembly election held, or it need to have won at least four seats in the last Lok Sabha polls; or to have won at least 2% of the total seats in the Lok Sabha from not less than three states. This means that the 15 parties which met in Patna have a tall order on their hands in ensuring their goal of hammering out a seat-sharing formula to ensure a one-on-one fight between them and the BJP in as many seats as possible. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, these parties together won 154 seats (including the Shiv Sena as a united party). The BJP, which contested 436 of the total 543 seats, won 303, getting 37.7% of the votes. A lookback at the 15 parties in context of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls: The National Parties 1. CONGRESS The party contested 421 seats in 2019, and won 52. It got 19.67% of the total votes. Since 2019, the party has won two Assembly elections - Himachal Pradesh last year and Karnataka recently on its own, and several others in alliances – with the Karnataka win especially powering its hopes of a revival. In 2014, when the Narendra Modi-led BJP swept the Lok Sabha polls the first time, the Congress had contested 464 seats and won 44, with 19.52% of the votes. 2. TRINAMOOL CONGRESS It contested 62 seats (42 of these in West Bengal) and won 22, making it the third-largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha. It got 4.1% of the total votes in 2019. In 2014, the TMC had contested 45 seats and won 34. It was listed as a regional party then. The TMC's influence remains confined to West Bengal, with the party's forays into the Northeast and Goa failing to take off. This explains why the party lost its national status in the latest revision. 3. NATIONALIST CONGRESS PARTY (NCP) It contested 34 seats and won 5, getting 1.4% of the votes in 2019. In 2014, the NCP had fought 36 seats and won 6, getting 1.58% of the votes. In the updated Election Commission list released in April, the NCP, whose footprint outside Maharashtra has been shrinking, lost its national status. 4. CPI(M) The party contested 69 seats and won 3, getting 1.77% of the votes in 2019, in the Left's worst-ever performance. In 2014, the CPI(M) had fought 93 seats and won 9, getting 3.28% of the votes. The party continues to retain its national status on account of its strong performances in Kerala (where it was voted back to power in 2021) and Tripura (where it remains the principal Opposition party). 5. CPI It contested 49 seats in 2019 and won 2, getting 0.59% of the votes. In 2014, it had fought 67 seats and won 1, getting 0.79% of the votes. Seen as a lesser half of the CPI(M) now, the CPI still retains pockets of influence, including in Bihar, but no longer enjoys national status. The State Parties 6. RASHTRIYA JANATA DAL In 2019, it contested 21 seats - 19 in Bihar (of the total 40 seats in the state) and 1 in Jharkhand (of the total 14 seats) - and won 2. It fought in alliance with the Congress, Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM), Mukesh Sahni’s Vikasshil Insan Party (VIP) and CPI(ML). In 2014, the state party had contested 28 seats and won 4. In the 2020 Assembly elections, the party showed a big revival under its leader Tejashwi Yadav, ending just ahead of the BJP. 7. JANATA DAL (UNITED) In 2019, it contested 17 of the 40 seats in Bihar, in alliance with the BJP, and won 16 of them. In 2014, the JD(U) had contested 38 seats, and won 2. Party chief Nitish Kumar was the prime mover behind Friday's Patna meeting, thus elevating the JD(U)'s importance in the Opposition's scheme of things. This is despite the party's falling graph in the state, with the party ending third in the 2020 Assembly elections, behind the BJP and RJD. 8. DMK The Tamil Nadu-centric party contested 24 Lok Sabha seats in the state of the total 39 in 2019, in alliance with the Congress, CPI(M) and CPI besides several smaller parties like the VCK, MDMK and IUML. It won all 24, making it the second-largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha. In 2014, it had contested 35 seats (1 of them in Puducherry) and won 0. Since 2019, the DMK's hold over Tamil Nadu has tightened, with the party winning the 2021 Assembly elections and several bypolls held subsequently. 9. SAMAJWADI PARTY In 2019, it contested 37 Lok Sabha seats, all in Uttar Pradesh, of the total 80 in the state, and won 5. It fought the elections in alliance with the BSP and Congress. In 2014, the SP had contested 78 seats in UP, and won 5. The SP is hoping for a better performance in 2024 on account of its results in the 2022 Assembly elections, where its seats went up from 47 to 111. 10. SHIV SENA (UDDHAV) In 2019, when the Shiv Sena was united, it fought 23 of the total 48 seats in alliance with the BJP and won 18. After the split, the Uddhav faction is left with a total 9 MPs, 6 of them in the Lok Sabha. In 2014, the united Sena had contested 20 seats and won 18. If the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition manages to stick together, it will be the Uddhav Sena's first big contest as an unlikely partner of the Congress and NCP. 11. AAM AADMI PARTY It contested 20 seats (13 of the 13 in Punjab and 7 of 7 in Delhi), and won 1, in 2019. In 2014, the AAP had contested 7 seats in Delhi and won 0, but picked up 4 seats in Punjab. The party has since entered into the ranks of national parties, with its sweep of the Punjab and Delhi Assembly elections. 12. JHARKHAND MUKTI MORCHA (JMM) The ruling party in Jharkhand contested 4 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state and won 1, in 2019. It fought in alliance with the Congress, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), and RJD. In 2014, the JMM had contested 4 seats and won 2. 13. NATIONAL CONFERENCE The Farooq Abdullah-led party contested 3 of the total 6 Lok Sabha seats in J&K in 2019, and won all 3. In 2014, when it also fought 3 seats, it had won none. Split into two Union territories soon after the 2019 Lok Sabha results, J&K has now completed five years under President's rule. Without elections, there has been no test of the respective strengths of the different parties in J&K in a long time. 14. PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY The Mehooba Mufti-led party contested 2 Lok Sabha seats in J&K in 2019 and did not win any. In 2014, it had contested 5 seats and won 3. The party has been on a slide since its contentious tie-up with the BJP imploded leaving a messy break-up in 2018. 15. CPI(ML) A part of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, the CPI(ML) is a new entrant in the Opposition grouping at a national level. The party contested 22 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections but forfeited its deposit in 21 of them. In Arrah in Bihar, the CPI(ML)'s candidate came second. However, the party's lasting footprint was evident in the 2020 Assembly elections, when it surprised everyone by winning 12 of the 19 seats it contested as part of the Mahagathbandhan. The CPI(ML)'s strike rate was much better than the Congress's, which had contested in 70 seats but could win only 19. Most of the ML victories came in the Bhojpur and Magadh belt, regions which have been in the past the epicentre of caste clashes and bloody violence against Dalits and extremely backward classes.
