Representative image of voters.
Credit: PTI Photo
The 2018 State Elections for the Legislative Assembly of Madhya Pradesh marked a significant event in the political landscape of India.
The data released by the Election Commission of India provides an in-depth look at how various political parties performed in terms of seats contested, won, and their share in the total valid votes polled in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is one of the two major national parties in India, contested all 230 seats in the assembly.
The party secured victory in 109 constituencies, and despite not winning the majority of seats, it garnered a substantial 41.33 per cent vote share, which was the highest percentage share among all parties.
The Indian National Congress (INC), another major national party and a key opponent of the BJP, contested 229 seats and won 114, just slightly more than the BJP, making it the party with the most seats won.
The INC obtained 41.35 per cent vote share, almost mirroring the BJP's percentage and indicating a highly competitive election.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), a significant player in the state, contested 227 seats but won only two.
The BSP's vote share stood at 5.01 per cent.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) had a relatively minor presence in terms of the number of seats contested and won.
The CPI contested 18 seats but did not win any, resulting in a vote share of only 0.10 per cent.
Similarly, the CPM contested 13 seats and also failed to secure any victories, with a vote share of 0.04 per cent.
These figures reflect the minimal influence these parties had in the Madhya Pradesh elections, with their percentage of seats won to seats contested being non-existent.
In total, 717 seats were contested by the various political parties, out of which 225 were won with 243 forfeited deposits (FD).
The overall voter turnout in terms of valid votes polled was 33,206,569 for the national parties, which corresponds to an 87.07 per cent of the vote shares.
The data suggests a competitive political environment in Madhya Pradesh, with the BJP and INC taking the lead in both seats won and votes received.
Despite a high number of contested seats, smaller parties like the BSP, CPI, and CPM struggled to convert contests into wins.
The election results demonstrated the bipolar nature of the state's politics, with the two major national parties almost equally splitting the vote share and the smaller parties being left with minimal influence.