The BJP has fielded 437 candidates in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the highest number of seats the party has contested so far and perhaps for the first time more than its principal rival Congress.
The BJP had contested 427 seats in 2014 and won 282 of them, while the Congress had fielded candidates in 450 seats and bagged just 44.
Political observers say the BJP contesting on more seats than the Congress as a result of its expansion across the country post 2014. The party also lost its ally in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where the party is contesting on all seats.
Similarly, the Congress is contesting on less number of seats than the BJP this time because it has allied with more parties as compared to 2014.
In Karnataka, where the party had contested on all seats in 2014, is now in alliance in with the JD(S). The party has expanded its alliance in Bihar with the entry of new partners.