The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance’s spectacular victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was propelled by a near complete sweep in the Hindi heartland. The BJP and its allies won 203 out of 225 seats in Hindi-speaking states, the United Progressive Alliance won just seven seats and the Mahagathbandhan won 15 seats. This was particularly surprising as the party had lost three key Hindi heartland states to the Congress in the Assembly elections just six months ago.

Many have argued that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity cut across caste and economic backgrounds, at least among Hindu voters. This is largely accurate with a few state-specific exceptions.

However, the Lokniti-CSDS post poll survey reveals that a sizeable chunk of Dalit voters in the Hindi heartland may still have voted for the Opposition even though the BJP’s popularity among Dalit voters did increase significantly.