'Ab ki baar 400 paar, but in another country': Shashi Tharoor takes dig at BJP after UK election results

NEW DELHI: Prominent Congress leader Shashi Tharoor took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following the Labour Party's resounding triumph in the UK general elections with over 400 seats lead.

In a post on social media on Friday, Tharoor said, "Finally 'ab ki baar 400 paar' happened — but in another country!"

The slogan, popularized by BJP leaders in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, predicted that the BJP would secure over 370 seats and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would surpass 400 seats. However, in the recent polls, the BJP won 240 seats, falling short of a majority, while the NDA secured a mandate with 293 seats.

On the other hand, the Congress party won 99 seats, while the INDIA bloc, a coalition of opposition parties, secured 234 seats. In the aftermath of the polls, two Independent Members of Parliament extended their support to the Congress, increasing the INDIA bloc's tally to 236 seats.

On Friday, Keir Starmer became the UK's new prime minister, pledging to rebuild the country after the Labour Party secured 412 seats in the 650-member House of Commons.

This result marked a significant increase of 211 seats from the 2019 elections. The Conservative Party, led by Rishi Sunak, won just 121 seats, a decrease of 250 seats from the previous election. Labour achieved a vote share of 33.7 per cent, compared to the Conservatives' 23.7 per cent.

This historic win concluded a turbulent 14-year period of Conservative rule and led to Keir Starmer being chosen as the PM-elect.