2024 Lok Sabha Elections RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS: NDA set to form government for a third consecutive term
Smriti Irani trailing behind Kishori Lal Sharma
As per early trends, BJP's Smriti Irani trailing behind Congress's Kishori Lal Sharma in Amethi LS seat in Uttar Pradesh.
PM Modi trailing in Varanasi
After over an hour of counting, PM Modi seems to be trailing in Varanasi. His main opponent is Ajay Rai, Congress's chief in UP.
Stock Market reaction on early election trends
Sensex slides by 1,715.78 points.
Nifty drops 539.1 points.
Kangana and Anurag leading in Himachal Pradesh
As per the early trends, Actor Kangana Ranaut, the BJP's candidate from Mandi, and Union minister Anurag Thakur, seeking a fifth term from the Hamirpur Parliament seat, are leading.
BJP is ahead of the Congress in all four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh.
BJP leading on all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi
The BJP is leading on all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in the initial trends.
The BJP is in a direct contest with the Congress-AAP alliance in the national capital.
From Rae Bareli to Thiruvananthapuram, key contests to watch for
Prime Minister Narendra Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi for the third time. In 2014, he defeated AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and won against Samajwadi Party's Shalini Yadav in 2019.
The Congress fielded Ajay Rai, also its candidate from the constituency in 2014 and 2019. Before Modi, the Varanasi seat was held by BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi.
Rahul Gandhi contested the Lok Sabha poll from Rae Bareli against BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh. He has been an MP thrice from Amethi and was defeated in 2019 by sitting MP Smriti Irani.
The seat, which until February was held by his mother Sonia Gandhi, has remained with the Congress since 1952 barring three elections – 1977, (Janata Party), 1996 and 1999 (BJP).
BJP's Smriti Irani, who wrested the seat from Rahul Gandhi in 2019, is seeking a re-election from the constituency, the Congress fielded Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide of the Gandhi family.
It is for the first time in 25 years that a Gandhi family member did not contest election from Amethi Lok Sabha seat.
Sitting MP and former Union minister Shashi Tharoor is seeking a re-election from Thiruvananthapuram for a fourth consecutive term. He is facing BJP leader and Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who made his Lok Sabha poll debut and wants to open the saffron party's account in Kerala. The other prominent leader in the contest is CPI's Pannyan Raveendran, who had won the elections from the constituency in 2005.
Early trends show NDA taking clear lead
Early trends from 283 out of the 543 show that BJP-NDA alliance leading in 156 seats with the INDIA alliance leading in 119 seats, as per NDTV.
With one seat being declared for NDA, counting in 542 LS seats underway
BJP candidate, Mukesh Dalal, was announced as the sole victor from Surat on April 22 after eight other contenders withdrew following the disqualification of Congress' Nilesh Kumbhani and his replacement.