BJP hopes to perform well in Kerala next time

The BJP was on its way to a landslide victory on Thursday with leads in 292 seats, showing major gains in Odisha and West Bengal but a nought in Kerala, prompting leaders to say they will redouble efforts to make inroads in the southern state the next time.

The BJP will do well in Kerala in the next elections in the same way it has done in West Bengal and Odisha this time, BJP national spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao told the media.

Of Kerala's 20 seats, the Congress was ahead in 15., the CPI(M) in one, the IUML in three, Kerala Congress (M) in one and the RSP in one, according to the Election Commission.

As votes for the seven-phase Parliamentary polls were counted on Thursday, the Trinamool Congress Party was leading in 24 of 42 seats of West Bengal while BJP was ahead in 17, up from two it held in 2014. The Left was wiped out in the state, once its citadel.

In Odisha, the BJP was leading in seven of 21 seats while the BJD was ahead in 14. In 2014, the BJP  got only one seat in the state and the BJD bagged 20.

"The people on the ground are not buying the narrative of the opposition that people are under threat. People are doing well that they are looking forward to the next government of Narendra Modi. We have to realise that Modi's government inherited very weak economy and he has done a phenomenal job," BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya said.