DigitEye India Fact Checkers
A text message is being shared on social media with a claim that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 282 seats with a 31 percent vote share in 2014, increased to 37 percent in 2019 elections winning 303 seats while it jumped to 39 percent in 2024 but in terms of number of seats, it was projected to get 245.
The claim reads: “India’s electoral trends with a focus on the BJP’s performance: 282 seats with 31% vote share in 2014, 303 seats with 37% in 2019, and a projected 245 seats with 39% in 2024. The BJP faces challengesfrom political parties , international media, NGOs, and influential entities.”
Essentially, the narrative is that the 2024 election is not between BJP and Congress but BJP versus other political parties, media, NGOs and influential entities.
India’s electoral trends with a focus on the BJP’s performance:
282 seats with 31% vote share in 2014, 303 seats with 37% in 2019, and a projected 245 seats with 39% in 2024.
The BJP faces challengesfrom political parties , international media, NGOs, and influential entities
— kusum Munshi (@LataLata444292) June 10, 2024
FACT-CHECK
When we checked the website of Election Commission of India (ECI), we found the anomaly in real percentage figure and the claimed here. As per the total vote share in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP won 240 seats by securing 23,59,73,935 votes with 36.56 percent vote share and NOT 39 percent as claimed.
Further when we checked the figures for 2014 Lok Sabha elections, we found that the BJP won 282 seats by securing 17,16,60,230 votes, which transforms into 31.34 percent vote share. In 2019, the ECI data shows that the BJP won 303 seats by securing 22,90,76,879 votes or 37.7 percent vote share.
Hence, the 2014 and 2019 figures in terms of number of votes and the percentage figures match but NOT the 2024 figure. In fact, the BJP got 36.56 percent of votes in 2024 as per ECI data, which is less than 1.1 percent compared to 2019 figure of 37.7 percent.
Secondly, the voting system in India is based on “First-past-the-post voting” method or (FPTP) whereby a winning candidate need not necessarily get a majority of all the votes polled but he should get more votes than his nearest rival, especially in a contest involving more than two candidates or multiple candidates. Hence, the percentage need not necessarily transform into the number of seats under this method.
Hence, the claim is false. BJP won 240 seats with 36.56 percent vote share in 2024 elections and did not get 39 percent vote share as claimed.
Claim: BJP won 282 seats in 2014 with 31% vote share, 303 in 2019 with 37% vote share but a projected 245 in 2024 despite 39% vote share.
Conclusion: The claim is false. In 2024, BJP got 36.56% vote share and not 39% as claimed.
Rating: Misleading — 
