Lok Sabha Election Results Live Updates 2024 | NDA For 3rd Consecutive Time...Historical Feat in India’s History: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people for "placing their faith" in NDA for third consecutive time as BJP led alliance is set for a historic third term. "People have placed their faith in NDA, for a third consecutive time! This is a historical feat in India’s history. I bow to the Janata Janardan for this affection and assure them that we will continue the good work done in the last decade to keep fulfilling the aspirations of people. I also salute all our Karyakartas for their hard work. Words will never do justice to their exceptional efforts," he said.

Shares of Reliance Industries on Tuesday tumbled over 7.50 per cent, wiping out Rs 1.54 lakh crore from its market valuation, in line with a massive correction in the equity market, PTI reported. The fall is attributed to the Lok Sabha poll results and trends showing the BJP was set to become the single-largest party but would fall short of the magic figure of 272. The bellwether stock tanked 7.53 per cent to settle at Rs 2,793.60 on the BSE. During the day, it plunged 10 per cent to Rs 2,719.15. RIL was the major contributor to the decline in Sensex, accounting for 686.45 points of total loss of 4,390 points in the benchmark index. At the NSE, RIL slumped 7.48 per cent to Rs 2,794.55.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged Narendra Modi to step down as Prime Minister, saying that he has lost his credibility. "PM Modi 'broke' many parties, people broke his morale," she told the media amid her party's results showing addition of more seats to her kitty. The party is expected to become the fourth largest party in the Lower House of the Parliament, if the trend continues. Her party was leading in 26 seats, while having been officially declared winners in three seats.

Mamata said, "India has won, Modi has lost." She thanked the people of West Bengal for the mandate, and assured, "I will try to ensure that Modi is out of power and INDIA bloc is in."

"We won Basirhat Lok Sabha seat, where Sandeshkhali is located, despite canards spread against our mothers and sisters," she said.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge hinted he may have a few tricks up his sleeve as he ducked a question on whether INDIA bloc will attempt to approach any new partners to reach the magic figure.

"Rahul Gandhi has made it clear, till the time we will not speak to alliance partners. If I reveal all the strategies, Modiji will become alert," he said while addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday evening.

Addressing the media, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who has registered massive victories from both Wayanad and Rae Bareli seat, thanked people for taking "first step to save constitution".

"INDIA bloc and Congress did not fight against BJP, but we fought against governance structure, and ...institutions like CBI, and ED. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah captured these institutions and frightened them. This was a war to save the Constitution. It was in my mind.. when they cancelled our bank accounts, and put Chief Ministers in jail...I want to thank the people of the country. You have taken the first big step to save the Constitution. We gave a pro-poor vision to the country. Behind the performance of the INDIA bloc are the Constitution and poverty. People are linking directly Modi and Adani. The country has stated that we do not want Mr Narendra Modi and Mr Amit Shah to run the country. This is a huge message to Narendra Modi," Rahul said.

Asked about the decision on seats and what INDIA BLOC constituents had decided, Rahul said: "We are going to have a meeting with INDIA partners. Tomorrow it will be decided, and our alliance will decide. It is a fine line." About which seat he will represent in Lok Sabha, Rahul said: "I have won from both the seats and I want to thank the voters. I will ask and then decide. I have not decided yet."

On the impressive performance by INDIA bloc, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge Tuesday said there "people's results and it is people's win". "It is a win for democracy. We were saying it was a contest between Modi and people. This time, the people have not given a single party a majority. This is a mandate against BJP. This is Narendra Modi's political and moral defeat: Cong chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Lok Sabha poll results.. The government obstacles created obstacles. We fought on issues like unemployment and others. The way the PM campaigned it will be remembered in the history," Kharge said addressing a press conference in the national capital.

In the biggest single-day fall in four years, benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty plunged by nearly 6 per cent on Tuesday as vote counting trends showed the BJP may not have a clear majority in the Lok Sabha polls. Reversing its Monday's sharp gains of over 3 per cent, the 30-share BSE Sensex nosedived 4,389.73 points or 5.74 per cent to close at a more than two-month low of 72,079.05.

In the day trade, the barometer tanked 6,234.35 points or 8.15 per cent to hit a nearly five-month low level of 70,234.43. The NSE Nifty tumbled 1,982.45 points or 8.52 per cent to 21,281.45 during the day. Later, it ended at 21,884.50, a sharp decline of 1,379.40 points or 5.93 per cent. Sensex and Nifty had previously declined by around 13 per cent on March 23, 2020 when lockdown was imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The BJP is ahead in all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi on Tuesday, with its North-West Delhi candidate Yogender Chandoliya leading by a margin of over 2.34 lakh votes, according to trends on the Election Commission (EC) website. Four of BJP's candidates are leading by a margin of over a lakh votes. At many of the counting centres, celebrations erupted as BJP candidates looked on course to register victories over the AAP-Congress combine candidates.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won by over 1.5 lakh votes in Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, according to the latest data by Election Commission of India at 4.11 pm. He defeated Congress candidate Ajay Rai by a margin of 152355 votes.
• NDA's Suresh Gopi has scripted history by winning Thrissur seat in the Lok Sabha elections with a lead of 74686 votes, and has now opened account for the BJP in Kerala. As per the Election Commission data till 4.30 pm, the actor-politician has secured 4,12,338 votes. His opponent LDF's V S Sunil Kumar is trailing in second position with 3,37,652 votes.
• Ayodhya seems slipping away from BJP as Lallu Singh, the saffron party candidate from the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat is losing, as per the latest counting trends by ECI. Samajwadi Party's Awadhesh Prasad is ahead with a hefty margin of more than 46,000 votes.

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said the INDIA alliance leaders will meet in Delhi on Wednesday to decide the future course of action while also stating that the opposition bloc was not likely to form the government.

Speaking at a press conference here as the trends indicated the BJP might not achieve majority on its own in the Lok Sabha polls, Pawar said he had not spoken to JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar or TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, contrary to media reports. "I spoke to Mallikarjun Kharge and Sitaram Yechury. The INDIA alliance meeting is likely to be held in Delhi tomorrow. Final decision is expected to be taken by this evening. Accordingly, I will be in Delhi," Pawar said.

To a question who would be the next prime minister, Pawar said, "We have not given it a thought. "I am not sure if the INDIA alliance can form government. We will meet tomorrow and take a decision unanimously on the future course of action," he said. The results in Uttar Pradesh had given a new direction to the INDIA alliance, he said, noting that even where the BJP was winning, its victory margins were narrow, compared to the last time. He also expressed satisfaction with his own party's performance, saying it contested ten seats and was ahead in seven.

Jailed Sikh separatist leader and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh has won from Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat by a comprehensive margin of over 1.5 lakh votes. According to the latest ECI data, Khadoor had polled 347667 votes, with a massive lead of 159099 against Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira. Singh fought the election as an Independent candidate. He is currently lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act. Counting of votes for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab began at 8 am amid tight security and is still underway. Congress is poised to win seven, AAP three, and SAD two seats from the state. Read More...

Kangana Ranuat, the BJP candidate from Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, has won the elections with a massive margin of over 70,000 votes, trouncing Congress' pick Vikramaditya Singh. As per the latest update by Election Commission, Kangana polled 5,25,691 votes, with a lead of 72696 against Singh. Earlier in the day, as trends showed her leading, Ranaut said, “Mandi has not taken kindly to the insults for daughters. As far as my departure to Mumbai is concerned, this (Himachal Pradesh) is my ‘janmabhoomi’ and I will continue to serve people here…So, I am not going anywhere. Perhaps, someone else will have to pack their bags and leave. I am not going anywhere.” Read More...

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has surpassed Sonia Gandhi's 2019 victory margin from the Rae Bareli constituency and is now leading by over 3.25 lakh votes against his nearest rival Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP, who has already conceded defeat. Rahul Gandhi, who contested from Rae Bareli seat for the first time, was ahead of the BJP candidate since the beginning of the counting. Singh is also a minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet.

In 2019, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi won the seat by a margin 1,67,178 votes against Dinesh Pratap Singh. Rahul represented the Amethi Lok Sabha seat from 2004 to 2019. In the 2019 general election, he lost the seat to the BJP's Smriti Irani but was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kerala's Wayanad. Read More...

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday congratulated the party's Amethi candidate Kishori Lal Sharma as he looked on course to win the Gandhi family bastion, saying she was sure from the beginning that he would win. "Kishori bhaiya, I never had any doubts, I was sure from the beginning that you would win. Hearty congratulations to you and my dear brothers and sisters of Amethi!" Priyanka Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

Sharma was leading in the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency over Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani by more than 90,000 votes, according to Election Commission data at 2:20 pm. Priyanka Gandhi had camped in the family bastions of Rae Bareli and Amethi for about two weeks and campaigned extensively for Sharma and her brother Rahul Gandhi, who contested from Rae Bareli.

Former J&K Chief Minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has conceded defeat from Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency where Mian Altaf Ahmad of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference is leading by a margin of over 2.3 lakh votes. "Respecting the verdict of the people I thank my PDP workers & leaders for their hard work & support despite all the odds. My deepest gratitude to the people who voted for me. Winning & losing is part of the game & wont deter us from our path. Congratulations to Mian sahab for his victory," Mehbooba posted on X.

According to the Election Commission, as of 2.30 pm, the BJP was leading/won in 240 seats, while the Congress party was leading/won 98, almost doubling its 2019 tally. Samajwadi Party has shocked all and sundry as it is leading in 36 seats, against only five it had managed to win in 2019. The Trinamool Congress is also putting up a strong front in 31 seats.

Former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has conceded defeat from Baramulla Lok Sabha seat as independent candidate Abdul Rashid Sheikh, popularly known as Engineer Rashid is set for a massive victory from the constituency. Rashid is leading by over 1.30 lakh votes. Admitting his defeat Omar posted on X: "I think it’s time to accept the inevitable. Congratulations to Engineer Rashid for his victory in North Kashmir. I don’t believe his victory will hasten his release from prison nor will the people of North Kashmir get the representation they have a right to but the voters have spoken and in a democracy that’s all that matters."

In jail since 2019 after the Lok Sabha elections that year, Rashid is charged under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for alleged terror funding. In 2019, he had stood third from the same constituency securing over 1 lakh votes. Read More...

In Karnataka's Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party clinched a significant victory as its candidate, Shreyas Patel, secured the Hassan seat, defeating Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of JD(S) stalwart H.D. Deve Gowda. Prajwal Revanna's campaign was marred by allegations of sexual abuse, culminating in his arrest just days prior to the announcement of the election results. This victory not only marks a political triumph for the Congress but also underscores the impact of the controversy surrounding Revanna's candidacy on the electorate's decision-making process. Read More...

In Coimbatore Lok Sabha Constituency, BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai is trailing by over 22,000 votes as Ganapathy Rajkumar P of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has taken a healthy lead as counting of votes is underway in the state. As per the ECI trends at 1.34 pm, Ganapathy P Rajkumar of DMK has got 100445 votes, leading by 22881. Annamalai has polled 77564 votes so far. Read More...

The Congress was leading in seven seats in Punjab and the AAP in three, according to the Election Commission latest trends. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was leading in one parliamentary constituency besides two independents, including radical preacher Amritpal Singh. Congress candidates were leading from Amritsar, Jalandhar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Gurdaspur, Patiala, Ferozepur and Ludhiana seats and the AAP was ahead in Hoshiarpur, Sangrur and Anandpur Sahib, the trends showed.

Congress party's Charanjit Singh Channi was way ahead of his nearest rival and BJP candidate Sushil Rinku in Jalandhar reserve constituency. Channi, who is the former Punjab chief minister, was leading by 1,21,850 votes. Congress' Sukhjinder Randhawa, who is the former deputy chief minister was leading in Gurdaspur seat against his nearest rival BJP's Dinesh Singh Babbu by a margin of 27,605 votes.

In Amritsar, Congress candidate Gurjeet Singh Aujla was leading against his nearest rival and BJP's Taranjit Singh Sandhu by a margin of 15,632 votes. Congress candidate Amar Singh, who is the sitting MP, was also leading in Fatehgarh Sahib against the AAP's Gurpreet Singh GP by 18,839 votes.

Shares of all Adani Group companies tumbled on Tuesday as the initial trend showed BJP winning a lesser number of seats than predicted in exit polls. The stock of Adani Ports plummeted 20 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions plunged 19.80 per cent, Adani Power slumped 19.76 per cent, Ambuja Cements tumbled 19.20 per cent and the group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises tanked 19.13 per cent on the BSE.

Adani Total Gas declined 18.55 per cent, Adani Green Energy dived 18.31 per cent, NDTV went lower by 15.65 per cent, ACC plunged 14.49 per cent and Adani Wilmar dropped 9.81 per cent. Erasing the record-rally of the previous trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 4,131.44 points or 5.40 per cent to 72,337.34, and the Nifty slumped 1,263.3 points or 5.43 per cent to 22,000.60. Shares of all Adani Group companies rallied sharply on Monday, with Adani Power surging nearly 16 per cent in line with a massive surge in the equity market, taking the combined market valuation of the ten listed firms to Rs 19.42 lakh crore.

Establishing a clear lead, Telugu Desam Party and its partners Janasena and BJP were ahead in 157 out of the total 175 assembly seats in the state, on its way to form government in Andhra Pradesh. According to the latest figures disseminated by the Election Commission on Tuesday, TDP is leading in 130, Janasena- 20 and BJP in seven assembly seats.

As part of a seat sharing deal among NDA partners, TDP contested 144 Assembly and 17 Lok Sabha constituencies while BJP put up candidates in six Lok Sabha and 10 Assembly seats. Janasena contested two Lok Sabha and 21 Assembly seats. The ruling YSR Congress Party, headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy is leading in 18 segments with the Chief Minister ahead in Pulivendula assembly segment by 21,292 votes over his TDP rival B Ravi. TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and his son Lokesh are leading in Kuppam and Mangalagiri assembly seats respectively. Naidu is leading by 6832 votes over his YSRCP rival KRJ Bharat in Kuppam.

Union Home Minister and BJP candidate from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency Amit Shah is set for a comfortable victory as he has achieved a lead of over 3.4 lakh votes, according the latest ECI trends. Shah has polled 473348 votes while Congress' Sonal Ramanbhai Patel is at a distant second with 101887 votes. In the 2019 election, Shah won the seat by a huge margin of more than 5.57 lakh votes. The Union minister is seeking a second term from the seat, which has in the past been represented by BJP stalwart Lal Krishna Advani. Former prime minister Ata Bihari Vajpayee also won the seat in 1996, though he preferred to retain the Lucknow seat (in Uttar Pradesh). Read More...

With latest ECI trends showing INDIA Bloc giving a tough competition to NDA, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said the opposition alliance has surpassed the numbers predicted by the exit polls and claimed the opposition bloc will win 295 Lok Sabha seats. Speaking to reporters, Raut said the Congress, which barely got 50 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, is now poised to bag 150 seats. "The picture is that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will be ahead in Maharashtra and the INDIA alliance will win 295 (seats in the country)," Raut claimed. "The INDIA alliance has crossed the figures predicted by the exit polls and sprinted ahead. It will cross 295 seats," the Rajya Sabha member added. The Congress-led INDIA bloc was leading in 200 seats in the early trends, a performance that appeared much better than what was predicted in the exit polls.

The ruling BJP is poised to retain power for a third straight-term, if the present trend in the counting continues. The BJP candidates are leading in 236 seats. The allies were leading in over 50 seats, giving the National Democratic Alliance(NDA) a comfortable lead over the INDIA bloc. The opposition alliance-led by Congress has secured over 220 seats. As per the EC website, Congress is shown leading in 98 seats while its alliance partners are leading in over 120 seats. At the moment, the BJP's vote share is nearly 40 per cent across the country. Congress' vote share is nearly 26 per cent.

NOTA abbreviated version of (None Of The Above) had scripted history by polling over 81,827 votes, highest ever so far, in any single Lok Sabha seat, since its inception into the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

Shankar Lalwani of the BJP has garnered 4,68,503 votes, so far, according to the EC website. He has polled a total 79.06 pc. Sanjay of BSP, who was at a distant second, polled 20,015 votes accounting for 3.39 per cent of total votes polled. NOTA has polled about 13.5 votes.

In Bihar, the ruling NDA was leading in 30 Lok Sabha constituencies while the INDIA bloc was leading in seven, initial trends recorded on the Election Commission website showed.

The seats from where the BJP candidates were leading include Paschim Champaran, Purvi Champaran, Araria, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Maharajganj, Begusarai, Patna Sahib and Nawada seats. Candidates of its alliance partner JD(U) were leading from Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Supaul, Kishanganj, Purnea, Madhepura, Gopalganj, Banka, Munger and Nalanda seats.

BJP's ally and Former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi was leading by 29,767 votes. The founder of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) was in a comfortable position over the RJD candidate, Kumar Sarvjeet, in Gaya seat.

RJD candidates, who are part of INDIA bloc, were maintaining a lead in Valmiki Nagar, Ujiarpur, Patliputra and Jahanabad constituencies. Congress was leading in Katihar and Sasaram constituencies. Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) Liberation, another Opposition alliance partner, was leading in Karakat. CPI, which is also a part of the opposition alliance, was leading in Begusarai constituency. An independent candidate Hina Shahab was leading in Siwan.

In Karnataka, BJP was leading in 17 seats while Congress has established lead in eight and JD(S) in three, the initial counting trends from 28 Lok Sabha constituencies revealed. Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who was arrested on allegations of sexually abusing several women and also recording them, was trailing. JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi (BJP) were leading from the Mandya and Dharwad Lok Sabha segments, respectively.

BJP's Mysore candidate and erstwhile Mysuru royal family scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, Shimoga candidate and party veteran B S Yediyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra, former CM and Belgaum candidate Jagadish Shetttar and BJP leader Tejasvi Surya (Bangalore South), were those in the lead. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani was trailing from Gulbarga.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP was leading in all 29 Lok Sabha seats, as per the initial trends. Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna) was leading by 87,000 votes and Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Vidisha) by 93,000 votes. Other BJP candidates who were in the lead include Faggan Singh Kulaste (Mandla), Shankar Lalwani (Indore), Shivmangal Singh Tomar (Morena), Sandhya Rai (Bhind), Lata Wankhede (Sagar), Virendra Kumar (Tikamgarh), Alok Sharma (Bhopal) and Rodmal Nagar (Rajgarh). Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh was trailing by over 10,000 votes while Congress sitting MP from Chhindwara, Nakul Nath was trailing by 3,800 votes.

The BJP-led NDA was leading in 44 Lok Sabha seats and the INDIA bloc in 34 in Uttar Pradesh, according trends on the Election Commission website. The BJP was leading in 42 seats and its ally RLD in two. INDIA bloc parties SP and Congress were leading in 28 and six seats, respectively, the election panel's data for polls to the 80 parliamentary constituencies in the state showed.

Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) was also leading on one seat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav were leading from the Varanasi, Lucknow, Rae Bareli and Kannauj Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, respectively, according to the EC. Union ministers Smriti Irani (BJP) and Anupriya Patel (Apna Dal (S)), and senior BJP leader Maneka Gandhi were trailing in the Amethi, Mirzapur and the Sultanpur seats, respectively.

PM Narendra Modi has overtaken Congress' Ajay Rai in Varanasi Lok Sabha seat in early trends after initial hiccups. As per the latest ECI update, Modi has polled 36424 votes (+ 619), and Rai is at 35805 (-619).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been trailing from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, where he is seeking a reelection for a third time. The early trends show the Congress candidate, Ajay Rai, leading the race with about 4,000 votes. So far, Modi has garnered 9,505 votes while his contender Rai has polled 14,503 votes in the initial rounds.

In Tamil Nadu, initial trends show that the ruling regional party and its allies are claiming the lion's share of 39 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. The main opposition AIADMK combine and the BJP are seen in contention to finish second in most of the seats.

DMK's candidates Kanimozhi (Thoothukudi), T R Baalu (Sriperumbudur), Dayanidhi Maran (Central Chennai), and Tamizhachi Thangapandian (South Chennai) are among those leading in their respective constituencies, with their party taking lead in almost all the constituencies.

DMK allies including Congress party's Karti Chidambaram (Sivaganga) and Marxist party candidate Su Venkatesan (Madurai) are also in the lead in their constituencies.

BJP's Nainar Nagendran (Tirunelveli), PMK's star candidate Sowmya Anbumani (Dharmapuri), and AIADMK's Aatral Ashok Kumar (Erode) are those in the close second.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav were leading from the Varanasi, Lucknow, Rae Barelli and the Kannauj Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, respectively, according to news channels.

Out of the 80 seats in the state, the BJP was leading in 51 while the INDIA bloc was ahead in 23, according to trends for 74 seats. According to the trends at 8:40 am from postal ballot counting, Modi was ahead of his nearest rival Congress's Ajay Rai from Varanasi, while Singh was ahead of SP's Ravidas Mehrotra. Gandhi was ahead of BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh in Rae Bareli and Yadav ahead of BJP's Subrat Pathak in Kannauj.

As counting of votes began in 542 Lok Sabha constituencies, the first round and postal ballot tally has started coming out. The saffron party has surged past the opposition combine, in a massive lead. The early trends indicate BJP has crossed the 200-mark and seen inching towards the half-way mark as the Congress-led opposition is seen hovering over 100 seats. The final results would take a lot of time as there are multiple rounds of counting. As per the ETV Bharat's Results Updates Team(RUT), the NDA was leading in 225 seats and the INDIA bloc in 125.

The initial trend emerging from the counting of postal ballots in most of the Lok Sabha seats in Kerala on Tuesday indicated a neck-and-neck fight between the Congress-led UDF and the CPI(M)-led LDF. Postal ballots were taken for counting at 8 am in 20 vote-counting centers across Kerala. According to initial trends, the candidates of the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF are leading in seven segments, and the nominees of the Congress-headed UDF are leading in nine constituencies.

TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu is leading from Kuppam Assembly constituency in Andhra Pradesh where counting of votes for 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats began at 8 am on Tuesday. According to the Election Commission, the counting of votes is taking place at 33 locations across the state in 401 halls, which will have 2,443 EVM tables for Parliamentary constituencies and 2,446 for Assembly constituencies.

The fate of N Chandrababu Naidu, who contested from Kuppam assembly constituency, YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy (Pulivendula) and Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan (Pithapuram) is sealed in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

There are 2,572 candidates who are crorepatis while 1,643 candidates have criminal cases registered against themselves, according to poll rights body ADR. An analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch has shed light on the profiles of the candidates. Out of the 8,360 candidates contesting, 8,337 have been analysed, revealing significant insights into their backgrounds, including criminal records, financial status, education, and gender representation. The analysis revealed that 20 per cent of the candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves, marking an increase from 19 per cent in 2019, 17 per cent in 2014, and 15 per cent in 2009.

All eyes are on Lok Sabha election results today with a number of high-profile electoral battles, starring veterans and debutants, formidable opponents and unlikely contestants. Here are some key contests to watch out for:

• Narendra Modi VS Ajay Rai in Varanasi
• Rahul Gandhi Vs Dinesh Pratap Singh in Rae Bareli
• Rahul Gandhi Vs Annie Raja in Wayanad
• Smriti Irani Vs Kishori Lal Sharma in Amethi
• Shashi Tharoor Vs Rajeev Chandrashekhar in Thiruvananthapuram
• Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Vs Yusuf Pathan in Baharampur
• Bansuri Swaraj Vs Somnath Bharti in New Delhi
• Bhupesh Baghel Vs Santosh Pandey in Rajnandgaon
• Rahul Kaswan Vs Devendra Jhajharia in Churu
• Nakul Nath Vs Vijay Kumar Sahu in Chhindwara
• B Y Raghavendra Vs Ks Eshwarappa in Shivamogga

• EVMs stored in strong rooms are opened in the presence of Returning Officer/Assistant RO and ECI Observer, candidates, and their representatives with the entire process being videographed.
• Control Units (CUs) are transported to counting centres after which such CUs are brought round wise to counting tables from Strong Rooms under continuous CCTV coverage.
• Seals on the CUs are verified and the unique serial number is conformed.
• Counting agents can verify polled votes displayed on CU with that of Form 17C.

The counting of votes for the General Election to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha has begun at 8 am today.

The locks of the strong rooms are being opened for the counting of votes across all the counting centres. Vote counting will commence shortly. Strong rooms are secure enclosures where EVMs (along with VVPATs) are kept after voting ends in a particular constituency. The rooms are sealed with double locks. The rooms are under CCTV watch and are secured by Central armed police forces 24X7.

Senior Congress leader and Chhattisgarh's former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has alleged that several Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and VVPAT units were changed after polling in the Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat, from where he contested the elections. Baghel claimed the numbers of several EVMs used in the April 26 voting in Rajnandgaon provided by the Election Commission does not match with details of machines of the booths concerned mentioned in Form 17 C. However, the returning officer of Rajnandgaon denied any irregularities or mismatch in numbers.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Mukesh Dalal was declared winner unopposed from Surat Lok Sabha Constituency on April 22 after Congress' candidate Nilesh Kumbhani's nomination was rejected and eight other candidates withdrew from the race. The nomination papers of Kumbhani and his substitute were rejected due to alleged discrepancies in the signatures of their proposers. The dismissal came under Section 36(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 19, which permits the RO to examine and reject nominations based on valid objections.

A petition challenging the validity and legality of the returning officer's decision to reject the nomination of Kumbhani was filed in the Gujarat High Court on Monday. The petition was filed by three voters of Surat parliamentary constituency and questions the decision of the returning officer under Section 36 of the Representation of the People Act relating to the scrutiny of the nomination form.

The marathon exercise of the counting of votes will being with Postal ballots across all centres, according to the Conduct of Election Rules. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, in a presser a day ahead of the counting, said after half-an-hour of the start of the postal ballot count, the counting of votes recorded in the electronic voting machines will commence.

"Rules clearly state (Rule 54A) that postal ballot count will start first. On all centres in the country it will start first, no doubt about it. After half-an-hour we start the EVM count. So, there are three countings which are happening simultaneously -- it happened in the 2019 elections, it happened in all the assembly polls held thereafter. It happened yesterday also in case of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim assembly (vote count). We can't change anything mid course. Why can't we change, because it is compliant with the rules," he said.

He said the postal ballot count and then the EVM count and finally the marching of VVPT slips with EVM results will continue. In majority of the booths, the number of postal ballot is less. It will automatically end first, he pointed out. Since 2019, VVPAT (paper-trail machine) slips from five randomly selected polling stations per assembly constituency (or segment in cases of Lok Sabha seats) are matched with the EVM count for greater transparency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people for "placing their faith" in NDA for third consecutive time as BJP led alliance is set for a historic third term. "People have placed their faith in NDA, for a third consecutive time! This is a historical feat in India’s history. I bow to the Janata Janardan for this affection and assure them that we will continue the good work done in the last decade to keep fulfilling the aspirations of people. I also salute all our Karyakartas for their hard work. Words will never do justice to their exceptional efforts," he said.

Shares of Reliance Industries on Tuesday tumbled over 7.50 per cent, wiping out Rs 1.54 lakh crore from its market valuation, in line with a massive correction in the equity market, PTI reported. The fall is attributed to the Lok Sabha poll results and trends showing the BJP was set to become the single-largest party but would fall short of the magic figure of 272. The bellwether stock tanked 7.53 per cent to settle at Rs 2,793.60 on the BSE. During the day, it plunged 10 per cent to Rs 2,719.15. RIL was the major contributor to the decline in Sensex, accounting for 686.45 points of total loss of 4,390 points in the benchmark index. At the NSE, RIL slumped 7.48 per cent to Rs 2,794.55.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged Narendra Modi to step down as Prime Minister, saying that he has lost his credibility. "PM Modi 'broke' many parties, people broke his morale," she told the media amid her party's results showing addition of more seats to her kitty. The party is expected to become the fourth largest party in the Lower House of the Parliament, if the trend continues. Her party was leading in 26 seats, while having been officially declared winners in three seats.

Mamata said, "India has won, Modi has lost." She thanked the people of West Bengal for the mandate, and assured, "I will try to ensure that Modi is out of power and INDIA bloc is in."

"We won Basirhat Lok Sabha seat, where Sandeshkhali is located, despite canards spread against our mothers and sisters," she said.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge hinted he may have a few tricks up his sleeve as he ducked a question on whether INDIA bloc will attempt to approach any new partners to reach the magic figure.

"Rahul Gandhi has made it clear, till the time we will not speak to alliance partners. If I reveal all the strategies, Modiji will become alert," he said while addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday evening.

Addressing the media, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who has registered massive victories from both Wayanad and Rae Bareli seat, thanked people for taking "first step to save constitution".

"INDIA bloc and Congress did not fight against BJP, but we fought against governance structure, and ...institutions like CBI, and ED. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah captured these institutions and frightened them. This was a war to save the Constitution. It was in my mind.. when they cancelled our bank accounts, and put Chief Ministers in jail...I want to thank the people of the country. You have taken the first big step to save the Constitution. We gave a pro-poor vision to the country. Behind the performance of the INDIA bloc are the Constitution and poverty. People are linking directly Modi and Adani. The country has stated that we do not want Mr Narendra Modi and Mr Amit Shah to run the country. This is a huge message to Narendra Modi," Rahul said.

Asked about the decision on seats and what INDIA BLOC constituents had decided, Rahul said: "We are going to have a meeting with INDIA partners. Tomorrow it will be decided, and our alliance will decide. It is a fine line." About which seat he will represent in Lok Sabha, Rahul said: "I have won from both the seats and I want to thank the voters. I will ask and then decide. I have not decided yet."

On the impressive performance by INDIA bloc, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge Tuesday said there "people's results and it is people's win". "It is a win for democracy. We were saying it was a contest between Modi and people. This time, the people have not given a single party a majority. This is a mandate against BJP. This is Narendra Modi's political and moral defeat: Cong chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Lok Sabha poll results.. The government obstacles created obstacles. We fought on issues like unemployment and others. The way the PM campaigned it will be remembered in the history," Kharge said addressing a press conference in the national capital.

In the biggest single-day fall in four years, benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty plunged by nearly 6 per cent on Tuesday as vote counting trends showed the BJP may not have a clear majority in the Lok Sabha polls. Reversing its Monday's sharp gains of over 3 per cent, the 30-share BSE Sensex nosedived 4,389.73 points or 5.74 per cent to close at a more than two-month low of 72,079.05.

In the day trade, the barometer tanked 6,234.35 points or 8.15 per cent to hit a nearly five-month low level of 70,234.43. The NSE Nifty tumbled 1,982.45 points or 8.52 per cent to 21,281.45 during the day. Later, it ended at 21,884.50, a sharp decline of 1,379.40 points or 5.93 per cent. Sensex and Nifty had previously declined by around 13 per cent on March 23, 2020 when lockdown was imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The BJP is ahead in all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi on Tuesday, with its North-West Delhi candidate Yogender Chandoliya leading by a margin of over 2.34 lakh votes, according to trends on the Election Commission (EC) website. Four of BJP's candidates are leading by a margin of over a lakh votes. At many of the counting centres, celebrations erupted as BJP candidates looked on course to register victories over the AAP-Congress combine candidates.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won by over 1.5 lakh votes in Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, according to the latest data by Election Commission of India at 4.11 pm. He defeated Congress candidate Ajay Rai by a margin of 152355 votes.
• NDA's Suresh Gopi has scripted history by winning Thrissur seat in the Lok Sabha elections with a lead of 74686 votes, and has now opened account for the BJP in Kerala. As per the Election Commission data till 4.30 pm, the actor-politician has secured 4,12,338 votes. His opponent LDF's V S Sunil Kumar is trailing in second position with 3,37,652 votes.
• Ayodhya seems slipping away from BJP as Lallu Singh, the saffron party candidate from the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat is losing, as per the latest counting trends by ECI. Samajwadi Party's Awadhesh Prasad is ahead with a hefty margin of more than 46,000 votes.

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said the INDIA alliance leaders will meet in Delhi on Wednesday to decide the future course of action while also stating that the opposition bloc was not likely to form the government.

Speaking at a press conference here as the trends indicated the BJP might not achieve majority on its own in the Lok Sabha polls, Pawar said he had not spoken to JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar or TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, contrary to media reports. "I spoke to Mallikarjun Kharge and Sitaram Yechury. The INDIA alliance meeting is likely to be held in Delhi tomorrow. Final decision is expected to be taken by this evening. Accordingly, I will be in Delhi," Pawar said.

To a question who would be the next prime minister, Pawar said, "We have not given it a thought. "I am not sure if the INDIA alliance can form government. We will meet tomorrow and take a decision unanimously on the future course of action," he said. The results in Uttar Pradesh had given a new direction to the INDIA alliance, he said, noting that even where the BJP was winning, its victory margins were narrow, compared to the last time. He also expressed satisfaction with his own party's performance, saying it contested ten seats and was ahead in seven.

Jailed Sikh separatist leader and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh has won from Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat by a comprehensive margin of over 1.5 lakh votes. According to the latest ECI data, Khadoor had polled 347667 votes, with a massive lead of 159099 against Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira. Singh fought the election as an Independent candidate. He is currently lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act. Counting of votes for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab began at 8 am amid tight security and is still underway. Congress is poised to win seven, AAP three, and SAD two seats from the state. Read More...

Kangana Ranuat, the BJP candidate from Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, has won the elections with a massive margin of over 70,000 votes, trouncing Congress' pick Vikramaditya Singh. As per the latest update by Election Commission, Kangana polled 5,25,691 votes, with a lead of 72696 against Singh. Earlier in the day, as trends showed her leading, Ranaut said, “Mandi has not taken kindly to the insults for daughters. As far as my departure to Mumbai is concerned, this (Himachal Pradesh) is my ‘janmabhoomi’ and I will continue to serve people here…So, I am not going anywhere. Perhaps, someone else will have to pack their bags and leave. I am not going anywhere.” Read More...

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has surpassed Sonia Gandhi's 2019 victory margin from the Rae Bareli constituency and is now leading by over 3.25 lakh votes against his nearest rival Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP, who has already conceded defeat. Rahul Gandhi, who contested from Rae Bareli seat for the first time, was ahead of the BJP candidate since the beginning of the counting. Singh is also a minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet.

In 2019, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi won the seat by a margin 1,67,178 votes against Dinesh Pratap Singh. Rahul represented the Amethi Lok Sabha seat from 2004 to 2019. In the 2019 general election, he lost the seat to the BJP's Smriti Irani but was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kerala's Wayanad. Read More...

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday congratulated the party's Amethi candidate Kishori Lal Sharma as he looked on course to win the Gandhi family bastion, saying she was sure from the beginning that he would win. "Kishori bhaiya, I never had any doubts, I was sure from the beginning that you would win. Hearty congratulations to you and my dear brothers and sisters of Amethi!" Priyanka Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

Sharma was leading in the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency over Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani by more than 90,000 votes, according to Election Commission data at 2:20 pm. Priyanka Gandhi had camped in the family bastions of Rae Bareli and Amethi for about two weeks and campaigned extensively for Sharma and her brother Rahul Gandhi, who contested from Rae Bareli.

Former J&K Chief Minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has conceded defeat from Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency where Mian Altaf Ahmad of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference is leading by a margin of over 2.3 lakh votes. "Respecting the verdict of the people I thank my PDP workers & leaders for their hard work & support despite all the odds. My deepest gratitude to the people who voted for me. Winning & losing is part of the game & wont deter us from our path. Congratulations to Mian sahab for his victory," Mehbooba posted on X.

According to the Election Commission, as of 2.30 pm, the BJP was leading/won in 240 seats, while the Congress party was leading/won 98, almost doubling its 2019 tally. Samajwadi Party has shocked all and sundry as it is leading in 36 seats, against only five it had managed to win in 2019. The Trinamool Congress is also putting up a strong front in 31 seats.

Former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has conceded defeat from Baramulla Lok Sabha seat as independent candidate Abdul Rashid Sheikh, popularly known as Engineer Rashid is set for a massive victory from the constituency. Rashid is leading by over 1.30 lakh votes. Admitting his defeat Omar posted on X: "I think it’s time to accept the inevitable. Congratulations to Engineer Rashid for his victory in North Kashmir. I don’t believe his victory will hasten his release from prison nor will the people of North Kashmir get the representation they have a right to but the voters have spoken and in a democracy that’s all that matters."

In jail since 2019 after the Lok Sabha elections that year, Rashid is charged under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for alleged terror funding. In 2019, he had stood third from the same constituency securing over 1 lakh votes. Read More...

In Karnataka's Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party clinched a significant victory as its candidate, Shreyas Patel, secured the Hassan seat, defeating Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of JD(S) stalwart H.D. Deve Gowda. Prajwal Revanna's campaign was marred by allegations of sexual abuse, culminating in his arrest just days prior to the announcement of the election results. This victory not only marks a political triumph for the Congress but also underscores the impact of the controversy surrounding Revanna's candidacy on the electorate's decision-making process. Read More...

In Coimbatore Lok Sabha Constituency, BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai is trailing by over 22,000 votes as Ganapathy Rajkumar P of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has taken a healthy lead as counting of votes is underway in the state. As per the ECI trends at 1.34 pm, Ganapathy P Rajkumar of DMK has got 100445 votes, leading by 22881. Annamalai has polled 77564 votes so far. Read More...

The Congress was leading in seven seats in Punjab and the AAP in three, according to the Election Commission latest trends. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was leading in one parliamentary constituency besides two independents, including radical preacher Amritpal Singh. Congress candidates were leading from Amritsar, Jalandhar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Gurdaspur, Patiala, Ferozepur and Ludhiana seats and the AAP was ahead in Hoshiarpur, Sangrur and Anandpur Sahib, the trends showed.

Congress party's Charanjit Singh Channi was way ahead of his nearest rival and BJP candidate Sushil Rinku in Jalandhar reserve constituency. Channi, who is the former Punjab chief minister, was leading by 1,21,850 votes. Congress' Sukhjinder Randhawa, who is the former deputy chief minister was leading in Gurdaspur seat against his nearest rival BJP's Dinesh Singh Babbu by a margin of 27,605 votes.

In Amritsar, Congress candidate Gurjeet Singh Aujla was leading against his nearest rival and BJP's Taranjit Singh Sandhu by a margin of 15,632 votes. Congress candidate Amar Singh, who is the sitting MP, was also leading in Fatehgarh Sahib against the AAP's Gurpreet Singh GP by 18,839 votes.

Shares of all Adani Group companies tumbled on Tuesday as the initial trend showed BJP winning a lesser number of seats than predicted in exit polls. The stock of Adani Ports plummeted 20 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions plunged 19.80 per cent, Adani Power slumped 19.76 per cent, Ambuja Cements tumbled 19.20 per cent and the group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises tanked 19.13 per cent on the BSE.

Adani Total Gas declined 18.55 per cent, Adani Green Energy dived 18.31 per cent, NDTV went lower by 15.65 per cent, ACC plunged 14.49 per cent and Adani Wilmar dropped 9.81 per cent. Erasing the record-rally of the previous trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 4,131.44 points or 5.40 per cent to 72,337.34, and the Nifty slumped 1,263.3 points or 5.43 per cent to 22,000.60. Shares of all Adani Group companies rallied sharply on Monday, with Adani Power surging nearly 16 per cent in line with a massive surge in the equity market, taking the combined market valuation of the ten listed firms to Rs 19.42 lakh crore.

Establishing a clear lead, Telugu Desam Party and its partners Janasena and BJP were ahead in 157 out of the total 175 assembly seats in the state, on its way to form government in Andhra Pradesh. According to the latest figures disseminated by the Election Commission on Tuesday, TDP is leading in 130, Janasena- 20 and BJP in seven assembly seats.

As part of a seat sharing deal among NDA partners, TDP contested 144 Assembly and 17 Lok Sabha constituencies while BJP put up candidates in six Lok Sabha and 10 Assembly seats. Janasena contested two Lok Sabha and 21 Assembly seats. The ruling YSR Congress Party, headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy is leading in 18 segments with the Chief Minister ahead in Pulivendula assembly segment by 21,292 votes over his TDP rival B Ravi. TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and his son Lokesh are leading in Kuppam and Mangalagiri assembly seats respectively. Naidu is leading by 6832 votes over his YSRCP rival KRJ Bharat in Kuppam.

Union Home Minister and BJP candidate from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency Amit Shah is set for a comfortable victory as he has achieved a lead of over 3.4 lakh votes, according the latest ECI trends. Shah has polled 473348 votes while Congress' Sonal Ramanbhai Patel is at a distant second with 101887 votes. In the 2019 election, Shah won the seat by a huge margin of more than 5.57 lakh votes. The Union minister is seeking a second term from the seat, which has in the past been represented by BJP stalwart Lal Krishna Advani. Former prime minister Ata Bihari Vajpayee also won the seat in 1996, though he preferred to retain the Lucknow seat (in Uttar Pradesh). Read More...

With latest ECI trends showing INDIA Bloc giving a tough competition to NDA, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said the opposition alliance has surpassed the numbers predicted by the exit polls and claimed the opposition bloc will win 295 Lok Sabha seats. Speaking to reporters, Raut said the Congress, which barely got 50 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, is now poised to bag 150 seats. "The picture is that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will be ahead in Maharashtra and the INDIA alliance will win 295 (seats in the country)," Raut claimed. "The INDIA alliance has crossed the figures predicted by the exit polls and sprinted ahead. It will cross 295 seats," the Rajya Sabha member added. The Congress-led INDIA bloc was leading in 200 seats in the early trends, a performance that appeared much better than what was predicted in the exit polls.

The ruling BJP is poised to retain power for a third straight-term, if the present trend in the counting continues. The BJP candidates are leading in 236 seats. The allies were leading in over 50 seats, giving the National Democratic Alliance(NDA) a comfortable lead over the INDIA bloc. The opposition alliance-led by Congress has secured over 220 seats. As per the EC website, Congress is shown leading in 98 seats while its alliance partners are leading in over 120 seats. At the moment, the BJP's vote share is nearly 40 per cent across the country. Congress' vote share is nearly 26 per cent.

NOTA abbreviated version of (None Of The Above) had scripted history by polling over 81,827 votes, highest ever so far, in any single Lok Sabha seat, since its inception into the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

Shankar Lalwani of the BJP has garnered 4,68,503 votes, so far, according to the EC website. He has polled a total 79.06 pc. Sanjay of BSP, who was at a distant second, polled 20,015 votes accounting for 3.39 per cent of total votes polled. NOTA has polled about 13.5 votes.

In Bihar, the ruling NDA was leading in 30 Lok Sabha constituencies while the INDIA bloc was leading in seven, initial trends recorded on the Election Commission website showed.

The seats from where the BJP candidates were leading include Paschim Champaran, Purvi Champaran, Araria, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Maharajganj, Begusarai, Patna Sahib and Nawada seats. Candidates of its alliance partner JD(U) were leading from Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Supaul, Kishanganj, Purnea, Madhepura, Gopalganj, Banka, Munger and Nalanda seats.

BJP's ally and Former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi was leading by 29,767 votes. The founder of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) was in a comfortable position over the RJD candidate, Kumar Sarvjeet, in Gaya seat.

RJD candidates, who are part of INDIA bloc, were maintaining a lead in Valmiki Nagar, Ujiarpur, Patliputra and Jahanabad constituencies. Congress was leading in Katihar and Sasaram constituencies. Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) Liberation, another Opposition alliance partner, was leading in Karakat. CPI, which is also a part of the opposition alliance, was leading in Begusarai constituency. An independent candidate Hina Shahab was leading in Siwan.

In Karnataka, BJP was leading in 17 seats while Congress has established lead in eight and JD(S) in three, the initial counting trends from 28 Lok Sabha constituencies revealed. Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who was arrested on allegations of sexually abusing several women and also recording them, was trailing. JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi (BJP) were leading from the Mandya and Dharwad Lok Sabha segments, respectively.

BJP's Mysore candidate and erstwhile Mysuru royal family scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, Shimoga candidate and party veteran B S Yediyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra, former CM and Belgaum candidate Jagadish Shetttar and BJP leader Tejasvi Surya (Bangalore South), were those in the lead. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani was trailing from Gulbarga.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP was leading in all 29 Lok Sabha seats, as per the initial trends. Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna) was leading by 87,000 votes and Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Vidisha) by 93,000 votes. Other BJP candidates who were in the lead include Faggan Singh Kulaste (Mandla), Shankar Lalwani (Indore), Shivmangal Singh Tomar (Morena), Sandhya Rai (Bhind), Lata Wankhede (Sagar), Virendra Kumar (Tikamgarh), Alok Sharma (Bhopal) and Rodmal Nagar (Rajgarh). Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh was trailing by over 10,000 votes while Congress sitting MP from Chhindwara, Nakul Nath was trailing by 3,800 votes.

The BJP-led NDA was leading in 44 Lok Sabha seats and the INDIA bloc in 34 in Uttar Pradesh, according trends on the Election Commission website. The BJP was leading in 42 seats and its ally RLD in two. INDIA bloc parties SP and Congress were leading in 28 and six seats, respectively, the election panel's data for polls to the 80 parliamentary constituencies in the state showed.

Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) was also leading on one seat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav were leading from the Varanasi, Lucknow, Rae Bareli and Kannauj Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, respectively, according to the EC. Union ministers Smriti Irani (BJP) and Anupriya Patel (Apna Dal (S)), and senior BJP leader Maneka Gandhi were trailing in the Amethi, Mirzapur and the Sultanpur seats, respectively.

PM Narendra Modi has overtaken Congress' Ajay Rai in Varanasi Lok Sabha seat in early trends after initial hiccups. As per the latest ECI update, Modi has polled 36424 votes (+ 619), and Rai is at 35805 (-619).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been trailing from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, where he is seeking a reelection for a third time. The early trends show the Congress candidate, Ajay Rai, leading the race with about 4,000 votes. So far, Modi has garnered 9,505 votes while his contender Rai has polled 14,503 votes in the initial rounds.

In Tamil Nadu, initial trends show that the ruling regional party and its allies are claiming the lion's share of 39 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. The main opposition AIADMK combine and the BJP are seen in contention to finish second in most of the seats.

DMK's candidates Kanimozhi (Thoothukudi), T R Baalu (Sriperumbudur), Dayanidhi Maran (Central Chennai), and Tamizhachi Thangapandian (South Chennai) are among those leading in their respective constituencies, with their party taking lead in almost all the constituencies.

DMK allies including Congress party's Karti Chidambaram (Sivaganga) and Marxist party candidate Su Venkatesan (Madurai) are also in the lead in their constituencies.

BJP's Nainar Nagendran (Tirunelveli), PMK's star candidate Sowmya Anbumani (Dharmapuri), and AIADMK's Aatral Ashok Kumar (Erode) are those in the close second.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav were leading from the Varanasi, Lucknow, Rae Barelli and the Kannauj Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, respectively, according to news channels.

Out of the 80 seats in the state, the BJP was leading in 51 while the INDIA bloc was ahead in 23, according to trends for 74 seats. According to the trends at 8:40 am from postal ballot counting, Modi was ahead of his nearest rival Congress's Ajay Rai from Varanasi, while Singh was ahead of SP's Ravidas Mehrotra. Gandhi was ahead of BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh in Rae Bareli and Yadav ahead of BJP's Subrat Pathak in Kannauj.

As counting of votes began in 542 Lok Sabha constituencies, the first round and postal ballot tally has started coming out. The saffron party has surged past the opposition combine, in a massive lead. The early trends indicate BJP has crossed the 200-mark and seen inching towards the half-way mark as the Congress-led opposition is seen hovering over 100 seats. The final results would take a lot of time as there are multiple rounds of counting. As per the ETV Bharat's Results Updates Team(RUT), the NDA was leading in 225 seats and the INDIA bloc in 125.

The initial trend emerging from the counting of postal ballots in most of the Lok Sabha seats in Kerala on Tuesday indicated a neck-and-neck fight between the Congress-led UDF and the CPI(M)-led LDF. Postal ballots were taken for counting at 8 am in 20 vote-counting centers across Kerala. According to initial trends, the candidates of the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF are leading in seven segments, and the nominees of the Congress-headed UDF are leading in nine constituencies.

TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu is leading from Kuppam Assembly constituency in Andhra Pradesh where counting of votes for 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats began at 8 am on Tuesday. According to the Election Commission, the counting of votes is taking place at 33 locations across the state in 401 halls, which will have 2,443 EVM tables for Parliamentary constituencies and 2,446 for Assembly constituencies.

The fate of N Chandrababu Naidu, who contested from Kuppam assembly constituency, YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy (Pulivendula) and Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan (Pithapuram) is sealed in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

There are 2,572 candidates who are crorepatis while 1,643 candidates have criminal cases registered against themselves, according to poll rights body ADR. An analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch has shed light on the profiles of the candidates. Out of the 8,360 candidates contesting, 8,337 have been analysed, revealing significant insights into their backgrounds, including criminal records, financial status, education, and gender representation. The analysis revealed that 20 per cent of the candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves, marking an increase from 19 per cent in 2019, 17 per cent in 2014, and 15 per cent in 2009.

All eyes are on Lok Sabha election results today with a number of high-profile electoral battles, starring veterans and debutants, formidable opponents and unlikely contestants. Here are some key contests to watch out for:

• Narendra Modi VS Ajay Rai in Varanasi
• Rahul Gandhi Vs Dinesh Pratap Singh in Rae Bareli
• Rahul Gandhi Vs Annie Raja in Wayanad
• Smriti Irani Vs Kishori Lal Sharma in Amethi
• Shashi Tharoor Vs Rajeev Chandrashekhar in Thiruvananthapuram
• Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Vs Yusuf Pathan in Baharampur
• Bansuri Swaraj Vs Somnath Bharti in New Delhi
• Bhupesh Baghel Vs Santosh Pandey in Rajnandgaon
• Rahul Kaswan Vs Devendra Jhajharia in Churu
• Nakul Nath Vs Vijay Kumar Sahu in Chhindwara
• B Y Raghavendra Vs Ks Eshwarappa in Shivamogga

• EVMs stored in strong rooms are opened in the presence of Returning Officer/Assistant RO and ECI Observer, candidates, and their representatives with the entire process being videographed.
• Control Units (CUs) are transported to counting centres after which such CUs are brought round wise to counting tables from Strong Rooms under continuous CCTV coverage.
• Seals on the CUs are verified and the unique serial number is conformed.
• Counting agents can verify polled votes displayed on CU with that of Form 17C.

The counting of votes for the General Election to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha has begun at 8 am today.

The locks of the strong rooms are being opened for the counting of votes across all the counting centres. Vote counting will commence shortly. Strong rooms are secure enclosures where EVMs (along with VVPATs) are kept after voting ends in a particular constituency. The rooms are sealed with double locks. The rooms are under CCTV watch and are secured by Central armed police forces 24X7.

Senior Congress leader and Chhattisgarh's former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has alleged that several Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and VVPAT units were changed after polling in the Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat, from where he contested the elections. Baghel claimed the numbers of several EVMs used in the April 26 voting in Rajnandgaon provided by the Election Commission does not match with details of machines of the booths concerned mentioned in Form 17 C. However, the returning officer of Rajnandgaon denied any irregularities or mismatch in numbers.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Mukesh Dalal was declared winner unopposed from Surat Lok Sabha Constituency on April 22 after Congress' candidate Nilesh Kumbhani's nomination was rejected and eight other candidates withdrew from the race. The nomination papers of Kumbhani and his substitute were rejected due to alleged discrepancies in the signatures of their proposers. The dismissal came under Section 36(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 19, which permits the RO to examine and reject nominations based on valid objections.

A petition challenging the validity and legality of the returning officer's decision to reject the nomination of Kumbhani was filed in the Gujarat High Court on Monday. The petition was filed by three voters of Surat parliamentary constituency and questions the decision of the returning officer under Section 36 of the Representation of the People Act relating to the scrutiny of the nomination form.

The marathon exercise of the counting of votes will being with Postal ballots across all centres, according to the Conduct of Election Rules. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, in a presser a day ahead of the counting, said after half-an-hour of the start of the postal ballot count, the counting of votes recorded in the electronic voting machines will commence.

"Rules clearly state (Rule 54A) that postal ballot count will start first. On all centres in the country it will start first, no doubt about it. After half-an-hour we start the EVM count. So, there are three countings which are happening simultaneously -- it happened in the 2019 elections, it happened in all the assembly polls held thereafter. It happened yesterday also in case of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim assembly (vote count). We can't change anything mid course. Why can't we change, because it is compliant with the rules," he said.

He said the postal ballot count and then the EVM count and finally the marching of VVPT slips with EVM results will continue. In majority of the booths, the number of postal ballot is less. It will automatically end first, he pointed out. Since 2019, VVPAT (paper-trail machine) slips from five randomly selected polling stations per assembly constituency (or segment in cases of Lok Sabha seats) are matched with the EVM count for greater transparency.