Posts from Congress leaders sparked a significant debate on social media, alleging a perceived North-South divide following the BJP's decisive victories in three out of four states. Expressing his enthusiasm, Congress leader Karti Chidambaram exclaimed, "The SOUTH!" after his party secured Telangana, while the BJP triumphed in the Hindi heartland states. A series of X posts discussed the apparent regional divide among voters, igniting discussions on the matter.
The BJP emerged victorious in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, collectively known as the Hindi heartland, while Telangana, the second Telugu state, was annexed from Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
Congress leader Praveen Chakravarty's statement on X, noting "The South-North boundary line getting thicker and clearer," was later removed. BJP leader CR Kesavan shared a screenshot of the deleted tweet, accusing Congress of attempting to divide the nation along north-south lines, following a failed bid to do so based on caste lines.
Referring to the Congress's call for an all-India caste census after Bihar releases caste census results, Kesavan asserted, "The Dynastic Congress party’s agenda to divide Bharat on caste lines and uproot #SanatanaDharma, has been outrightly rejected by our people. Now their toxic plan is to attack Bharat with the North-South divide. In 2024, the Congress will be consigned to the dustbin of history."
Congress's Tehseen Poonawalla cautioned against engaging in the north-south-divide argument, anticipating backlash. He posted, "Warning: The North-South divide will BACKFIRE! Don't indulge in it & reduce the legacy of the Congress, the first Nationalist & the oldest political party of this great nation! Just like people did not like the abuse of Sanatan DHARMA they won't tolerate the NORTH SOUTH divide!"
Several individuals, including politicians and journalists, highlighted what they perceived as a North-South divide in the assembly poll results. However, such discussions faced considerable criticism.
"There is no South and North India, West or East India. There is just Bharat and its people who are Bharatiya," emphasized journalist-author Savio Rodrigues.
Political expert Yashwant Deshmukh dismissed the north-south argument, asserting that the BJP was a significant player in Karnataka and was likely to perform well in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Deshmukh argued, "This North-South divide theory doing the rounds is big bullshit. BJP was a key player only in Karnataka so far, and they are likely to win that state again in LS 2024. The same is true about the Congress in Kerala. Yes, they have won Telangana today, but they are a big zero as far as Andhra and TN are concerned, just like BJP."
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