New Delhi, Mar 12 (IANS); The battle for 2019 goes way beyond Bharatiya Janata Party-versus-Congress contest as the data available for 2014 general election show that the two major contestants rivalled each other only on less than 170 seats,

Out of the 282 seats won by the BJP in 2014, the Congress candidate was runners-up on 167 seats. The second major rival for the party was Bahujan Samaj Party on 34 seats followed by Samajwadi Party on 31 seats.

Outside Uttar Pradesh, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) was locked in a head-on fight with the BJP in Bihar on 16 seats. The BJP won eight seats against Aam Admi Party (AAP) and seven from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

On the 54 seats where the BJP landed up as runners up, 23 were won by the Congress, three by RJD and two by Trinamool Congress.

The BJP not only won the most number of seats, but its winning average vote was also impressive 184,677.

The numbers show that the Congress has a far more uphill task to catch up with the BJP. The BJP, on the other hand, will have to hold its turf. The party has already set an ambitious target of crossing the 300-seat mark on its own riding on the patriotic fervour gripping the nation after the air strike on terror camps in Pakistan.