Lok Sabha Election Results 2024 Live Updates: NDA elects Narendra Modi as alliance leader (2024)

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.

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.

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

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."

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama Wednesday congratulated Narendra Modi and the NDA on their success in the Lok Sabha elections.

"As you prepare to resume office for a new term, I wish you continued success in meeting whatever challenges may lie ahead in fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the people of this great nation. It fills me with admiration and pride to see India upholding its responsibility as the world's largest democracy. These elections have indicated how much the people of India value their democracy," Lama said in his letter to PM.

NDA memebrs unanimously chooses Narendra Modi as alliance leader. (Source: ANI)

Meanwhile, NDA meeting has concluded. The BJP top guns, includeing Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda, met TDP's Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar -- two crucial allies -- before staking claim to form the government. (PTI Photo)

Can you spot SP leader Akhilesh Yadav here? Kharge residence is buzzing with leaders from all corners of the country!

As INDIA bloc leaders reach the residence of Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi for INDIA bloc meeting today, we spotted Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule there. Have a look! Stay tuned for more visuals right here!

Results of the Lok Sabha polls have thrown up two unusual winners — Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib, and Engineer Rashid from Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla — both of whom are currently in prison on serious charges that are being probed by the National Investigation Agency.

Amritpal Singh has been in jail in Dibrugarh, Assam under the National Security Act (NSA) since March 2023. The NSA is a preventive detention law which allows the government to detain individuals for up to 12 months without pressing formal charges.

Rashid is currently in Delhi’s Tihar jail facing charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in an alleged terror-funding case. A former MLA, he contested in the election on a Awami Ittehad Party ticket.

It's Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai. After poor show in the Lok Sabha polls in the state, he said every election is a lesson. Yet, the party is 'very happy' that it's vote share has increased.

"Narendra Modi ji is coming back to power for the third consecutive time. And if you look at the democratic system of India, we all know how difficult it is to form a government for the third consecutive time...With respect to the state of Tamil Nadu, every election is a lesson. We are not a party that was in power and that can conduct elections in a certain way. We are growing. Our vote share has improved, we are very happy with that, it has reached double digits which is very important in politics. The lotus symbol, stood at 23 out of 39 places. This is very important for us. In 20 years, many parts of Tamil Nadu voted for the lotus for the first time. We could not send an MP to Delhi. We are not very happy with this...We will introspect and we will find a way to fix it. And next time, not only increase the voting percentage but also send MPs to Parliament...,"news agency quote him as saying.

Congress leader KC Venugopal has arrived at party president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in Delhi to attend the INDIA bloc meeting that is to take place shortly.

Meanwhile, there's one more meeting that we are looking forward to: The meeting at Prime Mnister Narendra Modi's residence, that is to be attended by all the alliance partners.

Looks like a busy evening for top politcal parties of India as they decide the road ahead!

After Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis offered to resign from his post to concentrate on party work, CM Eknath Shinde said he will talk to him.

"Electoral defeat is a collective responsibility. All three parties had worked together in the elections. If you look at the vote share, Mahayuti got more than two lakh votes in Mumbai. The reasons for the defeat will be honestly reviewed. In the last two years, the government has taken many good decisions in the state. I will be speaking to Devendra ji soon. We have worked together in the past and we will keep on working in the future. We have collectively failed to counter the false claims of the opposition," he said

Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi today met Congress leader Kishori Lal Sharma, who won from UP's Amethi, defeating BJP's Smriti Irani.

BJP leader Ashok Chavan rejected speculations that INDIA bloc could form the government. "Anyone can claim this (that INDIA bloc will form government) but it is clear that the INDIA bloc doesn't have the adequate numbers. Meanwhile, final results have been declared and the BJP-led NDA has the numbers and there will be no problem in forming the government," says BJP leader Ashok Chavan.

VIDEO | Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: "Anyone can claim this (that INDIA bloc with form government) but it is clear that the INDIA bloc doesn't have the adequate numbers. Meanwhile, final results have been declared and the BJP-led NDA have the numbers and there will be no… pic.twitter.com/KmWjgTdWe3

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 5, 2024

A day after BJP's debacle in Maharashtra Lok Sabha election results, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis offered his resignation from the post in a press meet on Wednesday.

Fadnavis said, "I will urge central leadership to absolve me from responsibilities in state government. Instead, I will like to devote entire time and energy for organisation and party work ahead of assembly polls." "Even if I am out of government I will continue to contribute and help my colleagues," he added.

The BJP has become reliant on its allies as it failed to reach the majority mark yesterday. In the North and the South, two erstwhile members of the Opposition chose to throw in their lot with the BJP. The Rashtriya Lok Dal in UP and Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka, with leads 2 seats each, might be regretting their decision.

The former did so after its founder-patriarch Charan Singh was given the Bharat Ratna, the latter after some cajoling by the BJP left the Congress alliance. For now, it makes more sense to stick with the NDA and extract what they can. But again, given their now limited influence — they can likely neither make nor break an alliance — both parties might sway the way the wind blows.

Maharashtra has been one of the states where the NDA fell out short with the BJP itself being reduced to just 9 seats from 23 in 2019. The BJP’s Mahayuti allies also performed poorly, with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena getting seven seats and Ajit Pawar’s NCP just 1. The NDA thus was reduced to 17 seats out of 48 in the state. In 2014, with the united Sena an ally, the NDA had won 43 seats.

As such, given the now inevitable churn within the party, many may want to go back with Uddhav Thackery and so, the INDIA group.

Nitish Kumar has switched sides more often than most political parties and this time round, keeping in mind the JD(U)’s performance in Bihar, the CM holds a key spot in the NDA. Once seen as a potential Opposition PM candidate, Nitish squandered his standing with constant flip-flops. Nitish had been a stalwart of the NDA under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, serving as Union Railway Minister in his cabinet. In the run-up to the 2014 general election, however, things began to sour. Nitish hotly contested the elevation of Narendra Modi candidate to PM, for his lack of secular credentials, and left the NDA in 2013. His image as “sushasan babu”, coupled with the importance of Bihar meant that many projected him as a possible Opposition PM candidate.

This perception was only strengthened after the 2015 Bihar Assembly election in which the Mahagathbandhan — an alliance consisting of the Congress, RJD, JD(U) and Left parties — trounced the BJP. Unfortunately, this was not the last of his volte faces. Nitish broke away from the alliance in 2017, unable to work with his bete noir Lalu Prasad’s party. He then returned to the Mahagathbandhan in 2022, only to leave again to join the NDA in 2024.

Failing to reach the majority on its own, the BJP is now relying on its allies to form the government. To understand its alliances, we also need to understand their allies. Let’s take a look at the TDP first. It first joined the NDA in 1996 when Chandrababu Naidu was a young leader, known as a pioneer in IT governance. The party suffered greatly after it left the NDA in 2018. It was reduced to just 2 seats in the Telangana Assembly in 2018, and to a mere 23 seats in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly in 2019.

The TDP had also joined the UPA ahead of the 2019 general elections. It rejoined the NDA in February this year and while the BJP has suffered severe losses, the TDP has gained stupendously. It is leading in 134 of 175 seats in Andhra Pradesh. And with leads (or wins) in 16 Lok Sabha seats, Naidu is set to play kingmaker for the first time in nearly two decades.