Bengaluru: Thanks to the Narendra Modi wave, 59 of 65 seats from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh were won by the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Next year too, it can repeat the success despite the recent losses in the Assembly polls and it will take inspiration from Karnataka, said the party on Thursday.

Back in 2014, Karnataka gave the BJP 17 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state. This was after the Congress had come to power in the Assembly elections.

Going by the analysis of 2014, Congress was in power and secured 121 MLA seats, still, they could not match up to Modi and the BJP’s master class.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has secured 26 seats leaving only three to the Congress. Rajasthan blessed the BJP with all the 25 seats and only in by-elections in January-February 2018, the Congress managed to get Alwar and Ajmer. The scene in Chhattisgarh is no different as the party secured 10 out of the 11 MP seats.

Speaking to MyNation, Karnataka BJP spokesperson Vaman Acharya opined, “In Karnataka, Vokkaligas who are dominant in south Karnataka may have preferred former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda for Assembly elections, but when it comes to Lok Sabha elections, they will support Modi.”

He added, “Similarly, in Rajasthan, voters may be upset with Vasundhara Raje, but they never hate Modi. The emotions are very much same in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh as well and they may change their minds in six months and vote for Modi.”

"Karnataka's BJP victory in 2014 will offer hope, despite losing MLA elections in 2013. We came back stronger and secured 17 MP seats in 2014. Now, in Madhya Pradesh, where BJP lost by a close margin, it has a vote share of 34.5%, ahead of the Congress, which secured 33%. In Rajasthan too we are not out as we have over 71 MLAs and our power neutral voters who will vote for us and win us Hindi heartland in May 2019 elections," said Acharya adding that the party will have to work hard in Chhattisgarh which got only 15 seats out of 90.

In Chhattisgarh, the vote share of the BJP is only 26% now. The party which has built its base in the last 20 years has managed to create a vote base in these segments and hence cannot be wiped out.

"For the Assembly elections, there are four to five contenders for MLA seats, in that process the vote share dipped, hence we lost, but for the PM seat, there is one and only person, that is Modi," stressed Acharya.

Terming the results as an indication to the BJP that voters are unhappy with it, the Congress said the 2019 atmosphere is different from 2014 as people will not fall for the oratory skills of Modi.

“The Karnataka model of 2014 will not serve any hope to the BJP and these results will definitely have an impact on the results of 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In 2014, the BJP created hype and in four years people have witnessed the reality that the promises made by the BJP is nothing, but blatant lies," said AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, who is the party’s in-charge of Rajasthan.

"The Karnataka model in 2014 will not be repeated as the atmosphere is against the BJP and Modi. He has scored cent per cent on oratory but the promises stand as hallow. He has dedicated his time on tours, building the statue, renaming Congress programmes and street-making jokes on Congress leaders and letting loose the mob lynchers. These things will sink the BJP," said Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Gowda.

The JD(S), which is an alliance partner of the Congress in Karnataka, also echoed similar sentiments and said that there is a financial emergency situation due to the failure in the administration of the Union government.

"The results of three states where the BJP ruled are nothing but the reflection of the Modi government's rule. The nation wants to know what development India has achieved post demonetisation," opined R Prakash, JD(S) president of Bengaluru city unit.