The right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to lead the next government of India.
Published : 16 May 2014, 09:55 AM
The BJP led by its prime-ministerial candidate Narendra Modi seems set to win the just-concluded parliamentary elections in India. The Congress, which led a coalition government in New Delhi since 2004, has staged a very poor performance this year.
The Election Commission of India provided trends for 502 of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies across the country till 10:54am (IST). The Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in 265 seats, with a vote-share of 36.8%. Its allies Shiv Sena, Shiromani Akali Dal and Naga People’s Front are leading in 16, four and one seats respectively. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance seems set to win more seats than 272 – the halfway mark in the lower House of Parliament.
The Congress, according to the ECI, is leading in 47 seats, while its ally Nationalist Congress Party is leading in four. The Congress has so far secured 25.6 % votes.
The All India Trinamool Congress, led by Chief Minister of eastern Indian state of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, is leading in 30 of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is leading in seven constituencies, mostly in southern state of Kerala.
The Aam Aadmi Party is leading in three constituencies securing 3.1 % votes.
The Congress had won the previous two parliamentary polls, obtaining 26.53% and 28.55 % votes in 2004 and 2009 respectively. It won 145 seats in 2004 and 206 in 2009. The BJP had secured 138 seats and 22.16% votes in 2004 and 116 seats and 18.8 % votes in 2009.
India’s Election Commission started counting the votes cast in the just-concluded nationwide polling to elect the 16th Lok Sabha – the lower House of the country’s Parliament – at 8am Indian Standard Time in 989 centres set up across the nation.
The final official tally will be available by the evening, the trends available so far clearly indicate final mandate of over 55.13 crore people, who cast votes in the nine phases of polling over a period of five weeks between April 7 and May 12.
According to the Election Commission of India officials, the postal ballots – used by the government officials and security-men on poll duty as well as defence personnel to exercise their franchise – were counted first. Later, the votes recorded in the Electronic Voting Machines were counted to know the outcome of the polling in 543 parliamentary constituencies across the country.
Altogether 8251 candidates were in the fray to enter Lok Sabha for the next five years.
India’s present electoral roll has 814,591,184 registered voters. The election to the 16th Lok Sabha this year has already made a national record as 66.38 % of the electorate cast votes in nine phases of polling, thus registering the highest ever turnout. The 2009 parliamentary polls saw 58.19 % of the electorate exercising their franchise.
The first Lok Sabha election of independent India in 1951 witnessed 61.16% turnout. The lowest turnout was recorded at 55.27 % during the fifth Lok Sabha elections in 1971. The eighth parliamentary election, which took place soon after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, saw 64.01% turnout that remained the highest ever till this year’s polling.