India : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has crossed the majority mark of 272 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, while the INDIA bloc is leading on over 200 seats, defying exit poll predictions. The NDA is ahead in 299 seats, with the BJP alone leading in 236 seats. The INDIA bloc is leading on 226 seats, with others on 18 seats.The Congress is leading on 92 seats, Samajwadi Party on 34, DMK on 21, Trinamool Congress on 30, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) on 10, NCP (SP) on eight, CPI(M) on five, and Aam Aadmi Party on three seats. The INDIA bloc is making significant gains in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, leading on the most number of seats.In Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SC) are ahead in 30 seats, while the BJP-led Mahayuti is leading in 17 out of 40 seats. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is leading from Rae Bareli, while BJP candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh is trailing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading in Varanasi, followed by Congress candidate Ajay Rai.The counting of votes began with postal ballot papers amid tight security, with around 642 million people voting in the Lok Sabha elections held over seven phases in a six-week period. The counting for State Legislative Assemblies of 175 Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and 147 Assembly constituencies in Odisha, as well as the 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 projecting a two-thirds majority for the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). However, 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. The Lok Sabha elections were held across the country in seven phases from April 19 to June 1.
