Lok Sabha Election Results Wrap: NDA clinches majority despite fierce INDIA challenge

Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is poised to return for a third term, securing 294 Lok Sabha seats nationwide. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faces a significant hurdle, as it fell short of an outright majority with only 240 seats. To reach the required 272 seats to form a government, the BJP relies heavily on its allies like the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)).

Meanwhile, the Opposition alliance, INDIA, consisting of the Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP), Trinamool Congress (TMC), and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), garnered a total of 232 seats.

The Congress made a remarkable comeback with 99 seats, and the SP delivered an impressive performance, increasing its tally from 5 to 37 seats in Uttar Pradesh (UP). The TMC won 29 seats in West Bengal, while the DMK led in 22 constituencies in Tamil Nadu. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Sharad Pawar, secured 8 seats, and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena won 9 seats in Maharashtra.

In Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) was ahead in 4 constituencies, and both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) led in 3 each. Despite expectations of gains in the south, the BJP failed to win a single seat in Tamil Nadu but made notable progress by opening its account in Kerala and doubling its seats in Telangana from 4 to 8.

The BJP-led NDA's 294 seats outpaced the Opposition's 232, but the BJP's dominance in UP faced stiff competition from the INDIA bloc. Predictions had favoured a third term for PM Narendra Modi, but the INDIA bloc mounted a strong challenge, defying expectations.

Prime Minister Modi spearheaded the BJP's campaign, participating in over 200 public meetings, rallies, and roadshows. The INDIA bloc's campaign featured joint rallies by opposition leaders. Vote counting began at 8 a.m., starting with postal ballots before moving to Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) votes. This election was the second-longest since India's inaugural election in 1951-52, with a majority of 272 seats needed to form a government.

BJP High-Profile Defeats

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections saw notable BJP defeats, including high-profile losses such as Smriti Irani in Amethi, who was defeated by Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma by 167,196 votes, ending the BJP's brief hold on the constituency. Ajay Mishra Teni, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, lost to the SP's Utkarsh Verma by over 34,329 votes in Kheri. Arjun Munda, the Union Tribal Affairs Minister, was defeated in Jharkhand's Khunti constituency by Congress's Kalicharan Munda by 149,675 votes.

In Rajasthan's Barmer, Kailash Choudhary, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, finished third, trailing behind Congress's Ummeda Ram Beniwal by 417,943 votes. In Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar lost to Congress's Shashi Tharoor by over 16,077 votes. BJP’s V Muraleedharan was defeated by INC’s Adoor Prakash in Kerala’s Attingal by 16,272 votes.

Other BJP losses included Union Ministers Mahendra Nath Pandey, Kaushal Kishore, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Sanjeev Balyan, Rao Saheb Danve, RK Singh, V Muraleedharan, L Murugan, Subhas Sarkar, and Nishith Pramanik.

BJP’s Mahendra Nath Pandey lost to Birendra Singh in Chandauli, UP by 21,565 votes. BJP’s Kaushal Kishore was defeated in Mohanlalganj by SP's RK Chaudhary by 70,292 votes. BJP’s Niranjan Jyoti lost in Fatehpur to SP’s Naresh Chandra Uttam Patel by 33,199 votes, UP. BJP’s Sanjeev Balyan lost in Muzaffarnagar to SP's Harendra Singh Malik by 24,672 votes.

BJP’s Danve Raosaheb Dadarao lost the Jalna seat in Maharashtra to Congress's Kalyan Vaijnathrao Kale by 1,09,958 votes. BJP’s RK Singh was defeated by CPI(M)'s Sudama Prasad by 59,808 votes in Bihar's Arrah.

BJP’s Murugan L lost to DMK's Raja A in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris by 240,585 votes. BJP’s Nisith Pramanik lost the Cooch Behar seat in West Bengal to TMC's Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia by 39,250 votes. BJP’s Subhas Sarkar was defeated by TMC's Arup Chakraborty in Bankura, West Bengal by 32,778 votes.