Lok Sabha Election Results 2024 Highlights: Congress reaches 100-mark as Independent LS member from Maharashtra extends support to party

With the BJP relying on its allies, including the JD(U) to form the government at the Centre, the party's demand for special category status (SCS) for Bihar has again gained momentum.

Granting SCS to the state has been a long-pending demand of the JD(U) supremo and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, whose Bihar cabinet had even passed a resolution last year requesting the Centre to grant SCS to the state.

The Centre had previously said it would not entertain demands for "special category status" from any state, given the 14th Finance Commission's recommendation to abolish it. The SCS was introduced in 1969 to benefit certain backward states with hilly terrains, strategic international borders, and economic and infrastructural backwardness.

After the Bharatiya Janata Party's dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, State Minister Sanjay Nishad said they were not able to show their work to the public.

On being asked if the BJP's internal politics are the reason behind his son losing the Sant Kabir Nagar Lok Sabha seat, Nishad told ANI, 'Someone who doesn't get the ticket naturally will do something or the other...We were not able to show the public the work we did. This is the reason we faced defeat...' 'Some people made wrong statements and also said that when the BJP comes to power, the Constitution will be changed. This message, which percolated down to the masses, was wrong...,' he added. PTI 

Altogether, 72 women candidates from various parties vied for seats in West Bengal, with the TMC fielding the highest number at 12, followed by BJP's seven, CPI(M)'s six, SUCI (Communists)'s five, and 41 independents. Despite making up only 14 per cent of the candidates, the women showed remarkable tenacity.

TMC's candidates rode high on Mamata Banerjee's populist social welfare schemes, while the BJP's focus on issues like Sandeshkhali and corruption failed to resonate, ultimately culminating in a dramatic electoral showdown.

In stark contrast to TMC, the BJP's women candidates met a series of defeats.

Locket Chatterjee's defeat in Hooghly to her former film industry colleague Rachana Banerjee was a stunning blow. In Basirhat, where Sandeshkhali is located, Rekha Patra's campaign ended in a crushing defeat by 3,33,547 votes to TMC's Sk Nurul Islam.

The heartbreak continued as Agnimitra Paul, despite her status as a fashion designer-turned-politician, lost in Medinipur by 27,191 votes, securing 6,75,001 votes.

Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury's attempt to secure Malda Dakshin resulted in a dramatic loss by 1,28,368 votes to Congress' Isha Khan Choudhury. Piya Saha faced a landslide defeat in Bolpur, losing by 3,27,253 votes to TMC's Asit Kumar Mal.

Former Union minister Debasree Choudhury's campaign ended in despair in Kolkata Dakshin, losing by 1,87,231 votes. The royal lineage of Amrita Roy from Nadia district couldn't save her from defeat by TMC's Mahua Moitra in Krishnanagar.

Amidst a gripping political showdown, the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal witnessed a riveting narrative unfold as the ruling TMC's eleven women candidates clinched resounding victories, while their seven counterparts from the BJP faced defeats.

Among the triumphant TMC women, the spotlight shone brightly on Mahua Moitra, an investment banker-turned-politician, who, despite her expulsion from the Lok Sabha last year, secured a stunning victory in Krishnanagar by a margin of 56,705 votes, amassing 6,28,789 votes in total.

The saga continued with first-time candidate and actor-turned-politician Sayani Ghosh, whose victory in Jadavpur by a whopping 2,58,201 votes marked a dramatic rise from her previous electoral failure. In Midnapore, TMC's June Maliah, a political newcomer, won by 27,191 votes and proving her mettle beyond her acting career.

Adding to the theatrical flair, reality show anchor Rachana Banerjee dazzled voters in Hooghly, winning by 76,853 votes. Sitting TMC MP Mala Roy, a seasoned politician, retained her Kolkata Dakshin seat with an overwhelming majority of 1,87,231 votes.

In Joynagar, Pratima Mondol's landslide victory by 4,70,219 votes added to the TMC's triumphant narrative. Meanwhile, Sajda Ahmed's formidable margin of 2,18,673 votes in Uluberia, where she secured 7,24,622 votes, showcased the party's stronghold.

Actor-turned-MP Satabdi Roy's re-election in Birbhum with 7,17,961 votes, surpassing her BJP rival by 1,97,650 votes, continued the TMC's winning streak.

Mitali Bag, a former anganwadi worker, clinched victory in Arambagh by a narrow 6,399 votes. Bagh, who served as an Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) worker after completing her post-graduation in arts and later became a zilla parishad member of Hooghly, was nominated by her party for the first time.

Veteran politician Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar from Barasat won with a decisive margin of 1,14,189 votes, while first-time candidate Dr. Sharmila Sarkar triumphed in Bardhaman Purba by 1,60,572 votes.

Even amidst TMC's celebratory victories, there was a touch of drama and disappointment as Sujata Mondol, a debutant Lok Sabha candidate from Bishnupur, faced a narrow defeat by 5,567 votes.

Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil on Thursday dispelled rumours of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray switching sides to the ruling BJP-led NDA, emphasising Thackeray's commitment to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. Following the recent Lok Sabha elections where Shiv Sena (UBT) and BJP each secured nine seats in Maharashtra, Patil, alongside NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, clarified Thackeray's dedication to the MVA.

The opposition bloc, including Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP, and Congress, achieved success by winning 30 out of 48 seats in the state.

During a press conference, Patil assured of Thackeray's focus on establishing an MVA government in anticipation of the upcoming state assembly polls in October.

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Thursday said his party expects to get a good seat-sharing deal in the upcoming assembly elections in the state based on merit. Elections to the 288-member legislative assembly in Maharashtra are likely to be held in October this year.

Patole told the PTI that the Congress has emerged as the largest party in the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in the Lok Sabha polls in the state. 'We expect to get a good deal in seat-sharing for assembly polls based on merit,' he said. Patole, who led the state unit in the parliamentary elections, was weighed with 90 kg 'laddoos' to celebrate the party's success.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday claimed that the Lok Sabha election results in Nagaon and Dhubri seats pointed to the fact that the foundation of the state's social fabric was very weak, the PTI reported.  

Congress MLA Rakibul Hussain won the Dhubri seat by a record margin of over 10 lakh votes, while party MP Pradyut Bordoloi emerged victorious in Nagaon by 2,12,231 votes.

"The dangerous election results of Nagaon and Dhubri have again proved that the foundation of the social fabric of Assam is very weak... Rakibul Hussain won by over 10 lakh votes. What does this signify? It shows the danger in front of our society and 'jatiya jibon' (national life)," Sarma told reporters here.

The Congress and the INDIA bloc increased their tally after Independent Lok Sabha member from Maharashtra Vishal Patil extended support to the party. Patil, the grandson of former Maharashtra chief minister Vasantdada Patil, won the Lok Sabha election from the Sangli seat. A former Congress leader, Patil had contested the elections as an Independent after the Sangli parliamentary seat was allotted to the Shiv Sena-UBT in the seat-sharing arrangement among the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition.

The NDA may have performed better in Bihar than Uttar Pradesh, winning 31 of the 40 seats in the state, but its vote share has dipped significantly, with victory margins of its candidates shrinking considerably.

Also, while the JD(U) recorded a better strike rate than the BJP in Bihar – it lost only four of its 16 seats, compared to the BJP’s five out of 17, thus emerging as a kingmaker at the Centre – its vote share has shrunk more than that of the BJP.

In contrast, the RJD, which won just four seats despite a spirited campaign by former deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, has increased its vote share by over 6%, compared to 2019. Read full analysis here

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) inquiry against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and others who he said were involved in the "biggest stock market scam". He also questioned the connection between the fluctuations in the market and the recent exit polls.

Addressing a press conference, he also said stock markets rose after "fake" exit polls and then crashed the day Lok Sabha polls votes were counted on June 4. Retail investors lost Rs 30 lakh crore and this is the "biggest stock market scam", Gandhi said.

"For first time we noted that during polls, Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman commented on the stock market," he said.

The Aam Aadmi Party's meeting to review Lok Sabha poll results its MLAs has begun at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence in New Delhi. The party faced a drubbing in the recently concluded elections, as it failed to bag any of the seven seats in the national capital. The BJP won all the seats.        

A woman constable of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) allegedly slapped BJP’s Mandi MP Kangna Ranawat while the newly elected parliamentarian was at the airport to board a Delhi-bound flight to attend a meeting.

Sources said that Ranaut has lodged a complaint with the airport police station against the CISF personnel, Kulwinder Kaur.

The incident took place during a security check when CISF personnel frisk passengers.

The Mohali police was yet to issue comments on the incident.

VIDEO | BJP MP Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) arrives at Delhi Airport. pic.twitter.com/OQDIPVbF9l

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 6, 2024

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has met leaders of INDIA bloc, of which his party is a part. A Sena functionary said positive discussions underway. The development has for now silenced speculations of whether Thackeray will stick to the alliance ahead of the formation of the new government. Thackeray had missed the INDIA bloc meeting held in New Delhi yesterday (Wednesday).            

A controversy erupted after National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Thursday posted a news article on a social media platform that suggested Engineer Rashid's win in the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat will empower "secessionists", news agency PTI reported.

The row broke out after a private television news agency attributed the excerpts of the article shared by the NC leader to him. It triggered reactions from mainstream politicians in Jammu and Kashmir, including PDP's Waheed Para.

Abdullah was defeated by Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as 'Engineer Rashid', who is jailed under the UAPA, by more than two lakh votes in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections.

"The 'big loser' tag certainly hurts but it's an election, you win some you lose some and life goes on," Abdullah posted on X on Thursday, a day after attending an INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi.

This reaction was after some news articles referred to him and others as the "big losers" of the Lok Sabha polls.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has thanked the Samajwadi Party for the INDIA bloc's performance in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, saying the two parties' workers unitedly fought the polls and became the 'sentinels of democracy.' 

If you recall, the BJP-led NDA suffered a jolt in UP, where it won just 36 seats as against the INDIA bloc which bagged 43 - a significant contribution to the overall tally of the opposition alliance.

In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi congratulated SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, his wife Dimple Yadav and SP Rajya Sabha MP Ram Gopal Yadav. She also congratulated the 'hardworking' workers of the SP for the results in UP.

Haryana CM Nayab Saini claims the Congress won seats by falsely alleging the BJP would abolish reservation if re-elected. Saini dismissed calls for his government's dismissal, stating they had won a trust vote and were secure in power.

YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday alleged the TDP has created an atmosphere of fear in Andhra Pradesh even before forming the new government and appealed to Governor S Abdul Nazeer to help stop attacks on his party's workers.
In the wake of a crushing defeat at the hands of the NDA comprising TDP, BJP and Janasena in the recently held Assembly polls, 

NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, who defeated her sister-in-law and NCP candidate Sunetra Pawar in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, on Thursday said voters had rejected the 'repression' of central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate.

The Opposition's INDIA grouping has adopted the `wait and watch' policy as it does not have the numbers to form the government, but it remains 'prepared', she told reporters here during her first visit to the city after the poll victory.

'In this election, the voters of the state rejected the `ICE' (Income Tax, CBI and Enforcement Directorate) and their repression, and it is the real strength of Maharashtra,' she said.

The Opposition had accused the previous Narendra Modi government of misusing central agencies to harass its opponents.

Newly elected Samajwadi Party MP from Faizabad Awadhesh Prasad on Thursday attacked the BJP, saying this party is not the "real" follower of Lord Ram, and accused it of doing politics in his name and cheating the people. Prasad defeated his nearest rival from the BJP, Lallu Singh, by 54,567 votes in Uttar Pradesh's Faizabad parliamentary seat, where a grand Ram temple was built in Ayodhya on the orders of the Supreme Court and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had led its consecration ceremony on January 22.

"The BJP did politics in the name of Ayodhya. They have worked against the dignity of Maryada Purushottam Ram," Prasad told PTI-Videos.

During the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections, BJP leaders had given the credit of the Ram temple's construction to Modi and the issue was also one of the party's key poll planks.

Newly elected Samajwadi Party MP from Faizabad Awadhesh Prasad on Thursday attacked the BJP, saying this party is not the "real" follower of Lord Ram, and accused it of doing politics in his name and cheating the people. Prasad defeated his nearest rival from the BJP, Lallu Singh, by 54,567 votes in Uttar Pradesh's Faizabad parliamentary seat, where a grand Ram temple was built in Ayodhya on the orders of the Supreme Court and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had led its consecration ceremony on January 22.

"The BJP did politics in the name of Ayodhya. They have worked against the dignity of Maryada Purushottam Ram," Prasad told PTI-Videos.

The Lok Sabha election mandate is against the BJP and its popular faces Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath, CPIML leader Dipankar Bhattacharya has said.

In an interview with PTI, the CPI (Marxist-Leninst) Liberation (CPIML) general secretary also said though the results in Bihar were below the INDIA bloc's expectation, the state played an important role in setting a narrative centred around issues like employment, and caste census.

'I think the mandate has a very clear direction. It is against the Modi regime. It is against the BJP as a party, but more particularly I think it is against the known faces of the BJP,' Bhattacharya said.

All NDA MPs will meet at 11 am tomorrow in Central Hall of Parliament. Besides NDA's elected leaders, some CMs, deputy CMs, party office bearers of the NDA parties are also being invited.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat claimed that changes made based on surveys over seat-sharing and overconfidence due to it caused losses to them in the Lok Sabha polls.

The ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the NCP headed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, on Tuesday won 17 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. As part of the alliance, the Shiv Sena contested 15 seats and won 7.

Speaking to reporters, Shirsat said they accept the mandate given by the people. But instead of criticizing others, it is more important that they rectify their own mistakes, he said.

He said, "The true epicentre of our seat-sharing was surveys. The changes that were done in the name of these surveys caused losses to us and I accept it clearly. Someone brings one survey, someone comes with another. This survey says this...this survey says that...we had overconfidence due to these surveys. We faced losses due to this." (PTI)

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu will hand over the list of candidates who won the Lok Sabha elections to President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday evening, sources said.

Once the list is handed over to the President, the formal process to constitute the 18th Lok Sabha will commence.

The average age of MPs elected to the 18th Lok Sabha is 56 years, a slight dip from 59 years in the 17th Lok Sabha, as per an analysis by think tank PRS Legislative Research.

The analsts said that 11 per cent of the MPs are aged 40 or below, and 38 per cent are between the age of 41 and 55. About 52 per cent of the MPs are aged above 55 and the oldest MP is 82 years old.

The Samajwadi Party's Pushpendra Saroj and Priya Saroj became the youngest candidates to win the Lok Sabha polls at the age of 25, while the DMK's T R Baalu (82) was the oldest candidate to win.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that in several places in Uttar Pradesh, the administration was working for the government and made other candidates lose deliberately, accusing the BJP of rigging the polling process.

"At several places in Uttar Pradesh, it was seen that the Administration made candidates lose deliberately. Farrukhabad is one such example; the entire administration there was working for the Government," he said. 

SP leader Akhilesh Yadav speaks to reporters about the electoral verdict, saying: "I thank the people of Ayodhya. You would have seen the pain of Ayodhya from time to time. They were not given adequate compensation for their land, injustice was done to them, their land was not acquired at par with the market price, you snatched their land forcibly by slapping false cases against them...you destroyed the poor for a sacred thing. That is why, I think people of Ayodhya and neighbouring areas voted against the BJP."

With BJP and JD(U) leaders meeting seperately, now TDP leaders have arrived at Chandrababu Naidu's residence.

As per sources, Nitish Kumar's party said that he has his eyes on Railways, Rural Development and Jal Shakti ministries. Other choices could be Transport and Agriculture.

The JD(U) leader added, “Nitish has held railways, agriculture and transport portfolios in the NDA government. We want our MPs to take up departments that can help develop the state. Jal Shakti is crucial in the context of Bihar facing a water crisis alongside challenges of a receding water table and flooding. We could also give a push to interlinking of river projects."

Read more here

The swearing-in of Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu is likely to be postponed by 3 days, to June 12. Naidu, who won a landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh, was supposed to be sworn-in on June 9 but has decided to postpone the ceremony as he has to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in function on June 8, said TDP Spokesperson K Pattabhi Ram.

JD(U) leader Harshvardhan Singh speaks to news agency ANI amid a meet of party leaders and says, "This is not a meeting. We are active members of the party, so we have come to meet him. The environment is so good. Bihar mein bahaar thi, ab desh mein bahaar hai, Nitishe Kumar hai...Ministries and other things are decided by Nitish Kumar. We are workers. But we are being honoured and we thank Modi ji."

Leaders from JD(U) arrived at the residence of Bihar CM and party leader Nitish Kumar.

This comes as the details of government formation are yet to be discussed between all NDA’s allies, especially the TDP and JD (U).

Priyanka Gandhi took to X to send a message to Uttar Pradesh Congress and said: "I am proud of you and the conscious people of UP, who understood the depth and truth of this country and gave a strong message to the whole of India to save our Constitution. You have reestablished an old ideal in today's politics - that public issues are paramount, the price of ignoring them is heavy."

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut lauded Rahul Gandhi today morning, saying: "If Rahul Gandhi is ready to accept the leadership, why would we object? He has proven himself as a national leader for multiple times. He is one of the popular leaders. We all want him and love him. There is no objection and difference in the alliance." 

In a press conference he further said, "Since the commencement of the elections, the INDIA alliance has no dissonance over the post of Prime Minister. This alliance has always fought to save democracy and the constitution from the dictatorial governance of the BJP and people have voted for us. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah should accept their defeat."

Meanwhile, INDIA alliance partners and AAP leaders Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh arrived at Raut's residence for a meeting.

With ANI inputs

Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrives at the residence of BJP national president JP Nadda. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also present at the residence. The meet is to devise formula for discussions with the allies, and for cabinet formation.

Officials in Delhi, Colombo and Dhaka have confirmed that Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina are among the leaders who have been invited for the swearing-in ceremony.

"Modi is a politician who thinks long-term. Therefore, the evaluation of his actions should not be solely on the numbers in successive elections. Neither Nehru nor Modi can be considered purely political actors... The most remarkable aspect of the Modi government has been the initiation of a theoretical understanding of the role and nature of the Indian state. This gives him a unique place in modern India," writes Dr Rakesh Sinha.

With the Opposition INDIA alliance in wait-and-watch mode following the elections verdict, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and leader Derek O Brien arrived at Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav's residence in Delhi.

Of the 12 states and UTs where per capita NSDP grew by a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of up to 2 per cent, and where the BJP contested in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, the party’s vote share shrunk in nine.

India has elected 74 women MPs to Lok Sabha this year, four fewer than in 2019 and 52 more than in India’s first elections in 1952.

These 74 women make just 13.63% of the elected strength of the Lower House, much less than the 33% that will be reserved for women after the next delimitation exercise.

US President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will visit India to engage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led new government on shared priorities, including the trusted, strategic technology partnership, the White House said, as the two top leaders seek to deepen the bilateral partnership, reports PTI.

Sullivan's visit was discussed during the phone call President Biden made to Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday to congratulate him on his re-election for a historic third term.

His travel dates to India have not been announced yet but is expected to be within days of Modi being sworn in for the third time. 

“We will take appropriate steps at the appropriate time to realise the people’s desire not to be ruled by the BJP’s government. This is our decision,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, reading out a joint statement of the alliance on Wednesday.

BOLSTERED BY the gains in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, top leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc met Wednesday and indicated a restraint rather than a proactive push to explore government formation. While the Congress was not in a mood to scout for numbers now, some of the parties, including the Shiv Sena and Trinamool Congress, leaned on the side of exploring options.

Almost all the leaders who attended the meeting at Kharge’s residence felt the people’s mandate was against the BJP, the fact — many of them underscored — nevertheless is that the BJP has emerged as the single largest party and the NDA, a pre-poll coalition, has crossed the halfway mark. The majority view, at the end of the meeting, was that the INDIA bloc should wait and watch for now. Calling the mandate a reply to the BJP government, the coalition resolved to “continue to fight against the fascist rule of the BJP led by (Narendra) Modi”. 

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu emerged as a key player in national politics on Wednesday after his party won 16 seats in the Lok Sabha election. TDP is in alliance with the Jana Sena Party and the BJP in Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu’s support is critical for the BJP, which has only 240 seats in Lok Sabha. In return, Naidu is likely to extract several promises and assurances, the most important of which will be the status of a Special Category State for Andhra Pradesh. Read here

On the other hand,  Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) plans to leverage the 12 seats it has won to negotiate plum portfolios in the cabinet, including the coveted Railways ministry, it is learnt. Read more about this here

After the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 293 seats in the Lok Sabha elections and elected Narendra Modi as its alliance leader, the formation of a new coalition government at the Centre is imminent. However, details of government formation are yet to be discussed between NDA’s allies, especially TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar Chief Minister and JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar. For this task, Modi has assigned Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda.

The Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat, from where Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal won, registered the highest number of NOTA votes in Assam, Election Commission data says. Of the total 2,40,301 'NOTA votes in the state, the highest 32,255 votes were cast in Dibrugarh.

President Droupadi Murmu arranged a dinner for the outgoing Union Council of Ministers, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at Rashtrapati Bhavan. (Photo: ANI)

Meanwhile, let's have a look at Delhi, where the BJP made a hat-trick by winning all the seven seats, all over again. In a very-justified, celebratory mode, the Delhi BJP presdient greetd the newly elected MLAs today.

After BJP's dull show on Tuesday, Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the BJP's slogans are losing steam. The public is making the party aware of the ground reality, he added. Hooda accused the saffron party leaders of indulging in caste and religion-based divisive tactics. "The BJP has no issue and only wants to make people fight on the basis of caste and religion," the former Haryana CM said.

At the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting held at Narendra Modi's residence, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies unanimously elected Modi as their leader.

The leaders said Modi as a "clear vision for Viksit Bharat" and they are "partners" in this goal.

They further appreciated "PM’s efforts towards poverty eradication", and agreed to work harder towards the goal.

According to a press release, Modi said that the Lok Sabha election result "was a historic mandate for 3rd consecutive government which was last received in India 60 years back". 

Behind Kangana Ranaut’s victory over the Congress’s Vikramaditya Singh by 74,755 votes from Mandi Lok Sabha in Himachal Pradesh was a numbers game that the BJP executed with aplomb. In the high-stakes battle, the Bollywood actress’s fate was decided by the Assembly segments in the lower reaches of the mountainous state, which are mostly held by BJP MLAs.

It is from these areas that she got the biggest leads. From the Seraj Assembly segment of former BJP Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, Ranaut fetched 40,868 votes, while Singh fetched 26,170 votes, a lead of 14,698, which is also the exact lead she got from Sundernagar Assembly, which is represented by BJP MLA Rakesh Jamwal. Overall Ranaut got 5,37,022 votes out of a total 10,18,253, against Singh, who got only 4,62,267 votes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived at the Rashtrapati Bhavan to attend the dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu.

US President Joe Biden took to X to congratulate Modi for being elected for the post of Prime Minister for a third consecutive term.

Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the National Democratic Alliance on their victory, and the nearly 650 million voters in this historic election.

The friendship between our nations is only growing as we unlock a shared future of unlimited potential.

— President Biden (@POTUS) June 5, 2024

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin talked to PM Modi over phone on Wednesday, a day after election results were declared, the TASS state news agency reported.

Of the 78 Muslim candidates who contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, only 24 have managed to win across the country, a number that keeps going down over the years.

In 2019, only 26 Muslim candidates were elected as Members of Parliament, four belonging to the Congress and TMC each, three from the BSP and SP each, and one each of the NCP and CPI(M).

Here is the list of leaders currently at the INDIA bloc meeting underway at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence:

1. Mallikarjun Kharge, INC
2. Sonia Gandhi, INC
3. Rahul Gandhi, INC
4. K C Venugopal, INC
5. Sharad Pawar, NCP
6. Supriya Sule, NCP
7. M K Stalin, DMK
8. T R Baalu, DMK
9. Akhilesh Yadav, SP
10. Ramgopal Yadav, SP
11. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, INC
12. Abhishek Banerjee, AITC
13. Arvind Sawant, SS(UBT)
14. Tejashwi Yadav, RJD
15. Sanjay Yadav, RJD
16. Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M)
17. Sanjay Raut, SS(UBT)
18. D Raja, CPI
19. Champai Soren, JMM
20. Kalpana Soren, JMM
21. Sanjay Singh, AAP
22. Raghav Chadha, AAP
23. Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI(ML)
24. Omar Abdullah, JKNC
25. Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, IUML
26. P K Kunhalikutty, IUML
27. Jose K Mani, KC(M)
28. Thol Thirumavalavan, VCK
29. N K Premachandran, RSP
30. Dr M H Jawahirullah, MMK
31. G Devarajan, AIFB
32. E R Eswaran, KMDK
33. D Ravikumar, VCK

In opening remarks at the INDIA bloc meet today, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge reiterated that yesterday's mandate is a huge political loss and moral defeat for PM Modi. 

Boosting the spirit of the alliance partners, Kharge said: "We fought well, fought unitedly, fought resolutely. The mandate is decisively against Mr. Modi, against him and the substance and style of his politics. It is a huge political loss for him personally apart from being a clear moral defeat as well. However, he is determined to subvert the will of the people."

He added: "The INDIA Alliance welcomes all parties which shares its fundamental commitment to the values enshrined in the Preamble to our Constitution and to its many provisions for economic, social and political justice."

INDIA bloc meeting begins at Kharge's residence as the leaders discuss the possiblities of government formation.