evidence: The BJP had maxed out in the northern and western parts of India, winning 81 and 65 per cent of the seats respectively in 2019. Its allies won 14 and 23 per cent respectively in these regions. The saffron party expected losses in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Jharkhand either because of maxing out or because of the fierce challenge posed by the Opposition. [...] In terms of losses, the biggest loss of 29 seats came from UP, including the Ayodhya seat (Faizabad). In Bengal, the BJP lost six seats to a feisty Mamata Banerjee. In Haryana, it lost five seats to Jat anger. In Bihar, it lost five seats to a resurrected Opposition. In Maharashtra, it lost a whopping 14 seats as voters rejected the BJP’s jod-tod politics. In Rajasthan, it lost 10 seats due to Rajput anger and ticket mismanagement. In Karnataka, it lost eight seats because of the Siddaramaiah government’s welfare policies. In Jharkhand, it lost three seats due to sympathy generated for Hemant Soren after his arrest.