Numbers reveal how close India is to a Congress-mukt Bharat

As the results of West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the union territory of Puducherry started to settle, Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP's national general secretary, who was entrusted to remove the Congress government from Uttarakhand tweeted, "Congress has self invited their #Doomsday, #Verdict16 brings the joy of "Congress-Independent India" #CongressMuktBharat".

This round of Assembly elections, indeed, has brought further bad news for the Congress, which is at its historical low. It lost Kerala and Assam, leaving it with only one big state, Karnataka, in its kitty. BJP made a convincing victory in Assam and for the first time, the lotus has bloomed in this northeastern state.

In June 2013, after the appointment as chairman of BJP’s 2014 Lok Sabha Election Campaign Committee, Narendra Modi said, "We need to make this nation free of the Congress. Our motto must be – ‘Congress Mukt Bharat ka nirman’".

Has this round or results brought the nation closer to what the BJP wanted?

To understand this let's look at the following figures.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi rode to power in May 2014, almost decimating the Congress, the oldest political party of the country was in power in 13 states. Of them, it was heading 11 state governments and was the junior partner in two states.

Congress regimes in 2014

1. Arunachal Pradesh
2. Meghalaya
3. Manipur
4. Assam
5. Karnataka
6. Himachal Pradesh
7. Haryana
8. Maharashtra
9. Uttarakhand
10. Kerala
11. Mizoram

Congress in alliance

1. Jharkhand
2. Jammu and Kashmir

Two years down the line, it is heading governments in seven states and is a junior partner in Bihar.

May 2016

Congress in government

1. Himachal Pradesh
2. Karnataka
3. Manipur
4. Meghalaya
5. Uttarakhand
6. Mizoram
7. Pudduchery

 Congress in alliance

1. Bihar

Of the seven states that the Congress presently rules, it should be noted that none of the states are in the Hindi heartland.

The other way is to look at the Congress losing grip over the percentage of India's population.

As of now the BJP is ruling over 35 per cent of India's population. And if we add over 7 per cent of people ruled by it under the umbrella of the NDA than 43 per cent of India come under its ambit.

BJP-ruled states

1. Maharashtra - 9.3%
2. Madhya Pradesh - 6.0%
3. Rajasthan - 5.7%
4. Gujarat - 5.0%
5. Jharkhand - 2.7%
6. Assam - 2.1%
7. Chhatishgarh - 2.1%
8. Haryana - 2.1%
9. Goa - 0.1%

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    Total - 35.6%

BJP in alliance

1. Andhra Pradesh - 4.08%
2. Punjab - 2.30%
3. Jammu and Kashmir - 1.06%
4. Arunachal - 0.11

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Total - 7.55 %

BJP-ruled states - 35.06%

NDA-ruled states - 7.50%

Total 43.1%

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Just in contrast to the BJP, only around 7 per cent of India's population is ruled by India's oldest party, the Congress. And if we club this tally with Bihar, where the Congress is only a minor partner then it goes up to 15 per cent.

Congress-ruled States

1. Himachal Pradesh -  0.6%
2. Karnataka - 5.0%
3. Manipur - 0.2%
4. Meghalaya - 0.2%
5. Uttarakhand - 0.8%
6. Mizoram - 0.1%
7. Pudduchery - 0.10%

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Total - 7.0%

UPA-ruled state

Bihar - 8.58%

Therefore:

Congress-ruled states - 7.0%

UPA-ruled state - 8.58%

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Total - 15.58%

So, the BJP-led NDA is ruling over 43 per cent of India's population and the Congress over just 15 per cent. Others, neither BJP nor Congress allies, are in power in 11 states that comprise 41 per cent of India's population.

Other states

1. Uttar Pradesh - 16.5%

2. West Bengal - 7.5%

3. Tamil Nadu -  6.0%

4. Odisha - 3.47%

5. Telangana - 3.0%

6. Kerala -  2.8%

7. Delhi - 3.38

8. Tripura - 0.30

9. Nagaland - 0.16

10. Sikkim -  0.05%

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Total - 41.07%

***

Percentage of India’s population ruled:

NDA - 43.10%

UPA - 15.58%

Others - 41.16%

Another way to look at it is that the cumulative population of states under Congress' direct or indirect control is actually less than that of the country’s most populous state i. Uttar Pradesh. UP accounts for more than 16 per cent of India's population and is ruled by the Samajwadi party.

While it is difficult to say if the Congress is getting routed because of Modi or for its own mistakes, India, as of now, appears to be heading for a “Congress-mukt Bharat”.