New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has declared the results for 542 out of 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clinching 240 seats and the Congress securing 99.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to make history by forming the government for a third consecutive term, leading the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to a majority in the Lok Sabha.
Although the BJP fell short of the 272-majority mark, it garnered crucial support from key allies like N. Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)). With their combined strength, along with other alliance partners, the NDA surpassed the halfway mark.
While the Lok Sabha has 543 members, counting was held for 542 seats after the BJP’s Surat candidate Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed.
The Congress, part of the opposition INDIA bloc, secured 99 seats, making significant gains in Rajasthan and Haryana at the BJP’s expense.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party led the INDIA bloc’s spirits with 37 seats, while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured 29 seats in West Bengal, an increase from its 2019 tally.
Despite the NDA’s victory, the results didn’t match the landslide projected by exit polls.
The 2024 elections, conducted from April 19 to June 1 in seven phases, saw a staggering 640 million votes cast, making it the world’s largest democratic exercise.
