Lok Sabha polls: BJP Leading On 152 Seats, Congress On 61

As the counting of the votes for the Lok Sabha polls progresses, the early trends showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party is ahead on 152 seats, while the Congress is leading on 61 seats, as per the Election Commission of India.

According to the EC, Aam Aadmi Party is leading on three seats.

Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party is leading on 27 seats, Telugu Desam on 10, Janata Dal (Secular) on two seats Janata Dal (United) on 1 seat, and Shiv Sena (SHS) leading on three seats, and the Communist Party India (Marxist) - CPI(M) on 4 seats, Independent leading on 7, Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party - YSRCP on 2 seats.

Naga Peoples Front is leading on 1 seat, Voice of the People Party on 1, Zoram People's Movement on 1, Shiromali Akali Dal on 1, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) on one, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha on 1, Lok Janshakti Party(Ram Vilas) - LJPRV on 1 seat, Jammu and Kashmir People Conference on 1 and Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on 2 seats.

Around 642 million people voted in Lok Sabha elections held over seven phases in a mammoth six-week period. The counting of votes began starting with postal ballot papers amid tight security. The counting for State Legislative Assemblies of 175 Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and 147 Assembly constituencies in Odisha and results of bypolls in 25 Assembly constituencies also began.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is eyeing a third straight term in power, while the Opposition under the umbrella of the INDIA bloc is seeking to wrest power from the ruling party.

Most exit polls predicted a straight term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with quite a few of them projecting a two-thirds majority for the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The Congress party and its allies dismissed the exit polls as "orchestrated" and a work of "fantasy", asserting that the opposition INDIA bloc will form the next government at the Centre.

Strict security has been put in place for the smooth conduct of counting of votes for over 8,000 candidates in this general election.

Two polls predicted the BJP would also improve its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In the 2019 elections, NDA wrested 353 seats, of which the BJP won 303 alone. The Opposition's UPA got only 93 seats of which the Congress got 52.

Even before the counting of the votes, the Bharatiya Janata Party won one seat of Surat Lok Sabha.

Earlier on 22 April, Mukesh Dalal won the election "unopposed". Congress nominee Nilesh Kumbhani's nomination was rejected. His candidacy was rejected because of alleged discrepancies in the signatures of the proposers.

The Lok Sabha elections for 543 seats of the lower house were held across seven phases. (ANI)