Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Leading From Nagpur Lok Sabha

As the counting is underway, according to the latest trend, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari is leading from the Nagpur Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra.

According to the latest data from the Election Commission of India, the BJP candidate from the Nagpur seat is leading with a margin of 45,360 votes.

In Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi - with Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) a Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) (NCP-SP) is leading on 27 seats while Mahayuti - with BJP, Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) is leading on 20 seats.

Under the seat-sharing arrangement, the BJP contested in 28 constituencies, while its allies Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) fought in 14 constituencies and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in five constituencies.

On the other hand, Maha Vikas Aghadi members of Shiv Sena (UBT) contested in 21 constituencies, Congress in 17, and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) in 10 constituencies.

Overall, as per the latest trends by the Election Commission on 542 Lok Sabha seats, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is crossing the halfway mark with the BJP leading on 238 seats and winning one seat. The NDA is leading on 295 seats as per the trends reported by the Election Commission.

The exit polls predicted that the ruling BJP-led NDA is poised to improve its performance over its 2019 record when it won 352 seats.

Most exit polls have predicted that PM Modi will return to power. If these predictions come true, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will become the first PM after Jawaharlal Nehru to win three successive terms in Lok Sabha polls.

The Lok Sabha elections were conducted in seven phases- on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.

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. (ANI)