Elections Results: Massive mandate for Modi, BJP

Get all the election results 2019 live updates here

10:30 PM | Snapshot of the Lok Sabha poll results at 9:30 PM

Lok Sabha election overall trends at 10:30 pm

9:30 PM | Snapshot of the Lok Sabha poll results at 9:30 PM

9:00 PM | Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Thursday he takes “100 per cent” responsibility for the defeat in Lok Sabha polls and congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP on their spectacular victory, but asserted his party will continue to fight the ideological battle with the saffron party.

Read: I take 100 per cent responsibility for Congress defeat, says Rahul Gandhi

8:54 PM | Karnataka - Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Karge defeated by BJP’s Umesh Jadhav in Gulbarga by a margin of 95,452 votes.

PDP president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti lost the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat to National Conference’s Justice (retd) Hasnain Masoodi by nearly 10,000 votes. Masoodi, who was fighting his maiden electoral battle, polled 40,180 votes, while Mehbooba secured 30,524 votes, officials said.

Congress’s state unit president Ghulam Ahmad Mir was the runner up with 33,504 votes, they said. They said the NC candidate secured 32.59 per cent of the total votes polled on the seat which went to polls in three phases due to security reasons. Mir polled 26.76 per cent while Mehbooba 24.6 per cent of the votes.

Taking to Twitter, Mehbooba, who had won the Anantnag seat in 2014 election, conceded the defeat. “I’ve been fortunate to get the love & affection of my people. They have every right to express their anger for my failings. Accept their verdict with humility. Congratulations to winning candidates from NC. I’m grateful to my party workers & colleagues,” the PDP president tweeted.

She also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the “historic” mandate. “Congratulations to Narendra Modi ji for a historic mandate. Today surely belongs to BJP and it’s allies. Time for Congress to get an Amit Shah,” she added.

This is only second electoral defeat for Mufti since she joined politics in 1996. She had lost the 1999 Lok Sabha poll from Srinagar constituency to NC leader Omar Abdullah.

8:15 PM | PM Narendra Modi addressing the party workers at Party HQ

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday thanked the people of Varanasi as he retained the seat by a margin of over 4.79 lakh votes.

This is highest voter turnout Indian has seen. World will have to recognise India’s democratic strength, he said.

We had gone to people seeking mandate to build a new India. People have given us their blessings for it: PM Modi, he added.

8:00 PM | Here is the snapshot of the assembly poll results at 8 PM

Andhra Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh

Odisha

Sikkim

7:54 PM | Massive mandate for Modi

The BJP on its own is likely to get a massive majority by winning more than 300 seats, while the Congress is struggling to win 50 seats. In many States, Congress failed to open its account and the BJP-led NDA is set to win more than 350 seats.

While the experts were predicting that agrarian distress, economic slowdown, job losses, and crippling small businesses would affect BJP’s performance. But, the party succeeded to put on a strong show of strength across the India except Kerala and Tamil Nadu. - Radheshyam Jadhav

7:40 PM | BJP party president Amit Shah addresses party workers

7:30 PM | NDA’s win to double institutional investments in real estate to US$ 10 bn in 2019: JLL India

Ramesh Nair, CEO and Country Head, JLL India said that continuity and stability in governance will bolster the real estate sector.

He said in a press statement that the impact of NDA’s reforms has been reflected in the number of investments received by the real estate sector.  “ Of the total institutional investments of US$ 30 bn during 2009-2018, US$ 20 bn was invested in 2014-2018.During the same period, the share of foreign investments more than doubled to 70% in 2018 from 31%in 2009.We are confident that institutional investments in 2019 will nearly double to US$ 10 bn as compared to 2018” said Nair.

-Radheshyam Jadhav

7:15 PM | Modi, Amit Shah arrive at BJP HQ

7:06 PM | BJP’s Gopal Jee Thakur trounces RJD’s Siddiqui in Darbhanga

BJP candidate Gopal Jee Thakur has defeated RJD nominee Abdul Bari Siddiqui from Darbhanga seat by a margin of over 2.67 lakh votes, in the first Lok Sabha election result declared in Bihar.

Siddiqui is a former president of the state RJD. He was also a minister in the RJD governments headed by Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi. BJP’s Kirti Azad had won the seat in the 2014 LS polls. He later joined the Congress and is contesting from Dhanbad in neighbouring Jharkhand.

7:00 PM | Here is a snapshot of election results at 7 PM

6:55 PM | India’s rating hinges on policies of new govt: Moody’s

Moody’s expects the broad push towards fiscal consolidation to remain, although with greater policy emphasis on supporting low incomes.

Read:India’s rating hinges on policies of new govt

6:49 PM | BJP wins Daman and Diu Lok Sabha seat

The BJP won the Daman and Diu Lok Sabha seat, poll officials said. Lalubhai Patel, won the seat by defeating his nearest Congress rival Ketan Patel by a margin of 9,942 votes, an official said.

The BJP nominee polled 37,586 votes and the Congress candidate got 27,643 votes, he said. Independent candidate Babubhai Patel secured 19,938 votes.

6:45 PM   | PM Modi thanks the people of India for resounding mandate

6:40 PM | Industry excited about Modi 2.0 says CII

The overwhelming decisive historic win of the NDA led by Prime Minister  Narendra Modi is will propel India’s growth pace to the next orbit and drive the transformation of the country, stated Vikram S Kirloskar, President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

“We warmly congratulate the NDA on the landslide victory under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The sweeping referendum truly redefines the destiny of the country and makes this India’s century. The stellar and decisive leadership of Prime Minister has led to this magnificent mandate for development. The industry is tremendously excited about Modi 2.0,” said Kirloskar in a press statement.

“Over the last five years, the Prime Minister has brought in innovative mega missions that have changed the lives of hundreds of millions of citizens, driving a new template for development. With the mandate for another five years under his visionary and strong leadership, the transformation of India is on the fast track,” he added.

The CII press release said that a focused and comprehensive agenda for addressing corruption has delivered outstanding results in the last five years. Game-changing reforms such as introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST), Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, lowering of tax rates for small enterprises, ease of doing business, and so on have created the right environment for industry to flourish.

In addition, notable policies for easing FDI, improving the intellectual property regime, creation of new investment vehicles and others have been instituted. Spectacular achievements such as Jan Dhan Yojana, distribution of gas cylinders, complete electrification of all villages, construction of 1.5 crore houses, quick progress in roads and highways, and many others clearly show the dedicated commitment of the Government to rapid development and the scale and efficiency of its work, according to CII.

Uday Kotak, President Designate, CII said in a statement, “ CII wholeheartedly welcomes the strong election mandate which clearly reflects the aspiration of the people for a quick and constructive development agenda. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India stands at a massive turning point in its historical development journey in his next term. CII greatly looks forward to working with the incoming government on its reinvigorated economic roadmap to make India a $5 trillion economy in the near future”

- Radheshyam Jadhav

6:36 PM | Saffron hue dominated the BJP headquarters in Uttar Pradesh with jubilant party workers wearing saffron stoles, adorning ‘genda’ flowers around their necks and holding lotus cut outs celebrated the trends indicating a thumping victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP workers also burst crackers and danced to drum beats as women supporters wore saffron attire and painted their nails in the same hue.

6:30 PM | In post-Jaya era, AIADMK heading for rout

From being the third largest party in the outgoing Lok Sabha with 37 seats, the AIADMK has to now contend with single digit tally, pushed to the third spot behind arch rival DMK and Congress despite fighting the polls as part of a “mega alliance” with parties, including the BJP.

Read:In post-Jaya era, AIADMK heading for rout

6:05 PM | Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur wins from Bhopal

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has won from Bhopal. She gained a massive victory against Congress’ Digvijay Singh. Congress stalwart Jyotiraditya Scindia has been defeated from his bastion of the Guna Lok Sabha seat.  

In Begusarai Lok Sabha seat Giriraj Singh has defeated Kanhaiya Kumar. BJP President Amit Shah, and senior Minister Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh have registered victory.

- Radheshyam Jadhav

6:00 PM | Here is a snapshot of election results at 6 PM

Indian general election 2019- overall trends at 6 PM

5:50 PM | Senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily defeated by BJP’s Bache Gowda

Senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily defeated by BJP’s B N Bache Gowda in Chikkaballapur by 1,82,110 votes, Election Commission

5:45 PM | Modi congratulates Naveen Patnaik, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy

5:30 PM | Pakistan PM Imran Khan congratulates Modi

Pakistan PM Imran Khan tweeted, " I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia".

I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2019

5:20 PM | BJP might win 300 seats on its own

As per the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) data at 5 p , BJP is leading in 290 Lok Sabha constituencies while it has won 12 seats. If the lead trend continues, the BJP will end up winning 302 seats on its own.

The Congress is struggling to reach even 50 mark. With close contest in many seats, the party is leading in 49 seats while it has won one seat. Congress President Rahul Gandhi continues to trail in Amethi by about 20,000 votes against BJP’s Smriti Irani.

Trinamool Congress and DMK are leading in 23 seats in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu respectively. The CPI (M) is leading in just 3 seats. Janta Dal (United) has put up a good show in Bihar. The party is leading in 15 constituencies. YCR Congress and Shiv Sena are other two regional parties which have performed better. YCR is leading in 22 seats in Andhra Pradesh while Shiv Sena in 18 seats in Maharashtra.

- Radheshyam Jadhav

5:10 pm | Chandrapur: The only constituency where INC is leading so far in Maharashtra

The only constituency in Maharashtra, where Indian National Congress is leading, is in Chandrapur. Balubhau alias Suresh Narayan Dhanorkar, who is contesting from the 13th constituency in Maharashtra i.e. Chandrapur.

Dhanokar is contesting against the sitting Member of Parliament Ahir Hansraj Gangaram of Bhartiya Janta Party. However, the margins are very slim as of now with only 17,428 votes. Gangaram had won the Loksabha elections in 2014 with 236269 votes.

5:00 PM | The electoral picture in Maharashtra is getting clearer in the late afternoon, with the BJP and its allies leading in 40 seats in the parliamentary elections, while the Congress along with its alliance partners is ahead in seven seats.

Read: Maharashtra - BJP leading in 40 seats, Congress and allies ahead in 7

4:50 PM | The BJP is on its way to a landslide victory on Thursday, with leads in 292 seats showing major gains in Odisha and West Bengal but a nought in Kerala, prompting leaders to say they will redouble efforts to make inroads in the southern state the next time.

Read:BJP hopes to perform well in Kerala next time

4:35 PM | As of 3:20 PM, across Maharashtra over 3.04 lakh voters have voted for None Of The Above (NOTA) with 0.92 per cent of the total voters in Maharashta.

The most number of NOTAs have been voted in Palghar with 2.46 per cent, Gadchiroli with 2.03 per cent NOTAs followed by Mumbai south and Mumbai South Central voters with 1.87 per cent and 1.87 per cent respectively.

4:20 PM | World leaders congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media platform Twitter for his landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections 2019.

Read more:World leaders congratulate Modi on landslide victory

4:00 PM | Here is a snapshot of election results at the moment

Indian general election 2019- overall trends

3:45 PM | As vote-counting trends on Thursday showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP winning 285 seats against just 53 for Congress, current and former party officials blamed a lacklustre campaign and a failure to overhaul its top team.

Read: Rahul Gandhi faces backlash over election drubbing

3:30 PM | YSR Congress Party President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is likely to take oath as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on May 30, according to sources in the party.

3:20 PM | Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, who migrated from his home base Hassan to Tumkur, is trailing against G S Basavaraj of BJP by 13533 votes. In Chikkaballapur, Former Union Minister M Veerappa Moily of Congress is trailing by 1,81,079 votes to BN Bache Gowda of BJP.

In Kolar, Former Union Minister KH Muniyappa of Congress is trailing by 1,54,901 votes to S Muniswamy, a BBMP (Bengaluru civic body) Corportor. In Chitradurga, A Narayanaswamy (former MLA from Anekal near Bengaluru) of BJP is leading by 26,998 votes over B N Chandrappa of Congress.

- Anil Urs

3:05 PM | It seems to be a clean sweep for the BJP and Shiv Sena combine in Mumbai, which is seen to be leading in all six constituencies. Early poll trends indicate that all BJP and Shiv Sena candidates are leading by a fair margin in the city.

Shiv Sena’s Mumbai South candidate Arvind Sawant is leading, with a 67,238 vote margin over Congress’ Milind Deora. BJP’s Gopal Shetty in Mumbai North has a 2.83 lakh lead over actress and Congress candidate Urmila Matondkar. Priya Dutt is also trailing behind BJP’s Poonam Mahajan in Mumbai North Central seat.

Maharasthra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah over the party’s “historic win”.

3 PM | After rallying over 1,000 points, the markets cut back gains. Senex down by 259 down, Nifty is 42 points

Read more:How Sensex moved with the NDA numbers?

2:45 PM| With the BJP set to return to power, PM Modi has tweeted, " Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again!"

2:35 PM | West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee  said a complete review of the TMC's performance will be done soon. This reaction comes even as the State is seeing a massive saffron surge with BJP emerging as the sole challenger to her party’s dominance.

2:30 PM | NOTA finds takers: The Mumbai North West constituency has the most number of votes cast for None Of The Above (NOTA) in Mumbai, with 1.89 per cent of the entire votes. Mumbai South and Mumbai South Central have at 1.86 per cent and 1.78 per cent respectively.

Votes for the entire city are as followed:  Mumbai south: 10643 with 1.86 per cent Mumbai North: 7566 with 1.26 per centMumbai North Central: 8018 with 1.25 per centMumbai North West: 8193 with 1.89 per centMumbai North East: 12278 with 1.37 per centMumbai South Central: 12630 1.78 per cent

Read:Mamata promises TMC’s performance review

2:05 PM | Various leaders took to twitter to congratulate the winners. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congradulated the winners and said, "Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs matched”.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said, “So the exit polls were correct. All that’s left is to congratulate the BJP & NDA for a stellar performance.”

Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, “This historic victory in the General Elections is the outcome of Modiji’s visionary leadership, Amit Shahji’s dynamism and the hard work of millions of BJP karyakartas on the ground”.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the BJP has achieved a historic victory under the leadership of Modi Shah. 

1:50 PM| The BJP's victory is due to developmental work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain

Read:Modi era is an era of development politics, says Shahnawaz Hussain

1:40 PM| The Congress is leading in 8 constituencies of Punjab, while the SAD and BJP are leading in two Lok Sabha seats each, as per latest EC trends. The Aam Aadmi Party was ahead in Sangrur. Punjab has 13 Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress was ahead in Amritsar, Faridkot, Anandpur Sahib, Jalandhar, Khadoor Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala seats while the Akali Dal is leading from Bathinda and Ferozepur seats.

In Patiala, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh’s wife and Congress candidate Preneet Kaur is leading over her SAD candidate Surjit Singh Rakhra with a margin of over 38,000 votes. From Amritsar seat, sitting MP and Congress candidate Gurjeet Singh Aujla is ahead of BJP candidate Hardeep Singh Puri with a margin of more than 27,000 votes.

From Ferozepur seat, SAD chief and candidate Sukhbir Singh Badal is leading by over 55,000 votes against Congress nominee and sitting MP Sher Singh Ghubaya. Union minister and SAD candidate Harsimrat Kaur Badal is leading by 6,627 votes from Bathinda seat against her rival and Congress candidate Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. From Gurdaspur, Bollywood actor and BJP candidate Sunny Deol is leading by over 40,000 votes over Congress candidate and Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar.

Congress candidate Manish Tewari is leading by over 11,000 votes from Anandpur Sahib seat over Akali Dal candidate and sitting MP Prem Singh Chandumajra.

1:30 PM| The BJP seems to be making deep inroads into West Bengal by leading in 16 seats, while Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is currently ahead in 25 seats in the state. The Congress is leading in one constituency, while the Left is yet to to take a lead in any of the 42 constituencies.

As per initial trends, the TMC has so far secured 44.61 per cent votes, closely followed by the BJP, which has bagged 38.99 per cent votes. The CPI(M) and the Congress have garnered a meagre 6.66 per cent and 5.44 per cent share of the pie respectively.

In the outgoing 16th Lok Sabha, the TMC has 34 seats in West Bengal, whereas the BJP has only two. The Congress and the CPI(M)-led Left Front have four and two seats respectively.

Union Minister Babul Supriyo is leading in the Asansol constituency by 54,984 votes against TMC's Moon Moon Sen. Union Minister SS Ahluwalia is leading by 23,444 votes against Mamtaz Sanghamita of the TMC in Burdwan-Durgapur Lok Sabha seat.

Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, is leading by 50,931 votes in Diamond Harbour constituency. He is the sitting MP from the seat. In Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, BJP candidate Raju Bista is leading by 70,901 votes against Amar Singh Rai of the TMC.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh is leading by just 253 votes against Manas Ranjan Bhunia of the TMC in Medinipur Lok Sabha seat. In the prestigious Kolkata South constituency, Mala Roy of AITC is leading by 2,12,149 votes against BJP’s Chandra Bose, grand-nephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Former president Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit is trailing by 68,575 votes against Khalilur Rahman of the TMC in Jangipur constituency. Abhijit had won the seat by a narrow margin of 8,161 votes in the 2014 general elections.

Read: Bengal votes for the BJP, breaks many stereotypes

1:20 PM | Modi wave has become 'Modi Tsunami' after five years of Modi’s rule in the country, says BJP Dakshina Kannada candidate.

Read:Lok Sabha election results: Modi’s rule helped turn ‘wave’ into ‘tsunami’

1:15 PM | The TRS is in for a setback, with the party trailing in eight out of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state. According to latest reports, the Congress party and the BJP are ileading in four seats. The MIM is leading in the Hyderabad constituency.

If the trends continue, the TRS might end up with only eight seats, which is half the number of seats that it wanted to win. TRS President K Chandrashekar Rao asked its cadre to work to win 16 out of the 17 seats (leaving the remaining seat to its alliance partner MIM) so that the party could play an important role in the national politics.

In yet another setback for the party, the state Chief Minister's daughter K Kavitha is trailing in Nizamabad. The BJP candidate Aravind is leading over Kavitha, who is seeking a re-election. 

The Congress, which suffered a defeat in the recently concluded Assembly elections, has made a dramatic come back by leading in four LS seats. The Pradesh Congress Committee President Uttam Kumar Reddy is leading in Nalgonda constituency and K Vishveswar Reddy in Chevella.

Komatireddy Venkata Reddy (Bhuvanagiri) and Revanth Reddy (Malkajgiri) are also leading, according to latest reports.

-K V Kurmanath

A scene from the counting centre at Shivadi Counting Centre in Mumbai on Thursday

1 PM| Notwithstanding with farmer distress, allegations about Rafael jets, criticism on demonetization and growing unemployment, the BJP has managed to convince Indian voters to re-elect it to the power, with more numbers.

The lead trend shows that the BJP has managed to get votes across the States including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where the Congress won assembly polls recently. Even in Karnataka where the Congress is in power with JD(S), the BJP has put up a massive show of strength.

In West Bengal, the BJP has replaced the Left parties as the main opponent to the Mamata Banrejee's Trinamool Congress.  It has made huge gains in West Bengal and Odisha while Congress has maintained its strength in Punjab.     

While the opposition was banking on Uttar Pradesh which has 80 Lok Sabha seats, the BJP managed to overthrow Samajwadi and Bahujan Samaj Party Mahagathbandhan .

Among regional parties DMK has put up a good performance. It is leading in 22 seats in Tamil Nadu. In Maharashtra and Karnataka, voters have given a clear mandate to the BJP and allies.

Interestingly, many bigwigs, including Congress President Rahul Gandhi are trailing in their constituencies.  

- Radheshyam Jadhav

12: 55 PM | With the BJP set to return to power, the party's parliamentary board is expected to meet on Friday evening at the party headquarters. Top party leaders, including BJP president Amit Shah and some senior Union ministers besides PM Narendra Modi, are members of the parliamentary board, its highest decision making body.

The board is likely to pass a resolution to thank voters for their support and also hailing Modi’s leadership. The Prime Minister is also expected to address party workers.

12:50 PM | The YSR Congress is headed for a massive victory in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections. The party, headed by YS Jaganmohan Reddy, is leading in 152 out of the 175 seats in the State Assembly, pushing the ruling TDP party to (leading) 23 seats.  

Set up in 2011, YSR Congress had to settle for the opposition role in 2014 elections, with TDP-BJP-Jana Sena combine clinching the maiden elections held in truncated Andhra Pradesh.

The Jana Sena Party set up by film actor Pawan Kalyan has not made any impact. The party president himself is trailing in both Gajuwaka and Bhimavaram constituencies. The TDP faces its worst political setback as almost all of its Ministers, including Chandrababu's son Lokesh, are trailing.

The Lok Sabha results are not any better for the TDP. According to latest reports, YSR Congress is leading in all of the 25 seats, pushing TDP to a blank. With this the party is going to make a clean sweep in state. In the outgoing Lok Sabha, the party won 8 seats.

-K V Kurmanath

12: 20 PM | Karnataka results: BY Raghavendra, son of BJP Karnataka president and former Chief Minister BS Yedurappa, is leading in Shimoga by 89,638 votes against Madhu Bangarappa (who is also son of former late Chief Minster S Bangarappa). Meanwhile, the other Nikhil Kumaraswamy (son of Karnataka chief minister H D Kumarawamy) is in a neck-to-neck fight against Sumalatha, an independent candidate, Kannada film actress and wife of late film star Ambareesh and is trailing by 5,977 votes.

12:15 PM | Stock prices may have had a good run in the last five years with the Sensex and the Nifty gaining 58 per cent and the mid- and small-cap indices gaining 61 and 76 per cent, respectively.

So, are acche din ahead for India Inc?

12 PM| Congress President Rahul Gandhi is trailing in Amethi. BJP candidate Smriti Irani has got 48 per cent of the counted votes, while Rahu has got 44 per cent.

In Rai Bareli, Sonia Gandhi is leading with 55 per cent of counted votes.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah are heading towards a massive victory margin. Shah has received 73 per cent of the total counted votes in the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, In Varanasi, Modi has received 64 per cent of the counted votes.

In Begusarai, Kanhiya Kumar is trailing against his opponent Giriraj Singh.

11:55 AM | In Karnataka, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, leader of opposition Mallikharjuna Kharge, Veerappa Moily trailing.

Read:In Karnataka, alliance does not help Congress

11: 50 AM| The lead trends indicate a clean sweep for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. 

Out of 80 seats in UP, the BJP is leading in 56 seats, while the Samajwadi Party and BSP alliance is leading in 20 seats.

In Maharashtra out of 48 seats, BJP is leading in 23 and Shiv Sena, its alliance partner, is leading in 20 seats. In Rajasthan, where Congress recently won state assembly elections, the BJP is leading in all 25 seats.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is leading in 28 seats out of the total 29 seats. in Chhattisgarh, the BJP is leading in 9 seats.

In Punjab, the Congress is leading in 9 out of 12 seats.

- Radheshyam Jadhav

11: 45 AM | In Bihar, the BJP is leading in 16 seats. Its ally, Janata Dal (United) is also leading in 16 seats, while the LJSP is leading in 6 seats. Lalu Prasad is leading in only 2 seats.

11:40 AM | External Affirs Minister Sushma Swaraj took to twitter to congratulate the NDA.

“Many congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for delivering such a massive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party,” Sushma Swaraj said on Twitter. “I express my gratitude to the people of the country.”

11:30 AM | In Odhisa, the BJP is leading in 7 seats. The Biju Janata Dal is leading in 14 seats.

11:10 AM | The party seems to be forfeiting its chances in the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram seat where star candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan is now put to the second position after two hours of vote counting.

In Pathanamthitta, which houses the Sabarimala temple, K Surendran is fighting the Left Democratic Front's Veena George for the runner-up position after early lead gained by incumbent Anto Antony of the Congress. 

Also read:Sabarimala backfires on BJP as UDF gains big in Kerala

11:05 AM | The Election Commission of India (ECI) has released leading trends for all 542 constituencies of which the BJP is leading in 294 Lok Sabha constituencies while the Congress is leading in 50 constituencies.

As per the ECI data, Congress President Rahul Gandhi is trailing in Amethi.  

If the lead trend continues, the BJP will not even require support of its alliance partners to form the government. However, BJP leaders have not given any reaction as part is waiting for concrete results to come out.   

BJP’s partners including Janata Dal (United) and Shiv Sena have put up solid performances in Bihar and Maharashtra respectively. Among regional parties the Trinamool Congress is leading in 25 seats in West Bengal while DMK in 22 seats in Tamil Nadu. YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh is leading in 24 seats.

- Radheshyam Jadhav

11 AM | Andhra Pradesh LS election results 2019: The YSR Congress looks to sweep the polls, as they are leading in 24 of the 25 seats. The TDP is leading in only seat.

The YSR Congress is leading in the Andhra Pradesh Lok Sabha election.

10:55 AM | Archrivals DMK and AIADMK were in a neck-to-neck race in the bypolls to 22 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu, with the ruling party ahead in 5 seats and DMK in 4 segments.

AIADMK was leading in Hosur, Manamadurai, Sathur, Sholinghur and Vilathukulam, acccording to the latest trends, as released by the Election Commission.

DMK was ahead in Ambur, Gudiyatham, Thiruporur and Thiruvarur, the last being the native constituency of late party chief M Karunanidhi.

TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munntera Kazhagam and actor Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam were yet to make an impact.

By-polls to the 22 seats, whose outcome will decide the fate of the AIADMK government headed by Chief Minister K Palaniswami, were held in two phases, on April 18 and May 19

10: 50 AM | In West Bengal, the BJP is giving a tough fight to the TMC. Out of the 41 seats the trends are available for, The TMC is leading in 25 seats and the BJP is leading in 15. The Congress is leading in 1 seat, while the left has not yet opened it account.

10:45 AM | In Telangana, the TRS is emerging as the undispted winner, with leads in 11 seats. The is BJP in 4 seats.

10:40 AM| Union Minister Nitin Gadkari was leading by 3,066 votes in Nagpur, while Union Minister Subhash Bhamre was leading in Dhule by 13,128 votes, as per the trends available so far for the Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.

Union Minister Hansraj Ahir was leading in Chandrapur by a margin of 49 votes. Union Minister Anant Gite was trailing in Raigad by a margin of 1,064 votes.

Maharashtra Lok Sabha election trends

Maharashtra Congress President Ashok Chavan was trailing by 2,876 votes in Nanded, while former Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde was trailing in Solapur by 4,627 votes. Mumbai Congress president Milind Deora has trailing in Mumbai South by 15,904 votes.

Parth Pawar, Sharad Pawar’s grand-nephew, was trailing in Maval by 43,979 votes, while the NCP chief’s daughter Supriya Sule is leading Baramati by 6486 votes.

10:35 AM | Sensex crosses the psychological 40K mark. The Nifty crosses 12K.

10:22 AM | The lead trends for all 542 constituencies show that the '2014 Modi wave' still prevails strongly across all States, with the BJP leading in 283 seats, while its alliance partners including Shiv Sena are putting up a massive performance.

In Uttar Pradesh, the trends show that the SP-BSP Mahagathbandhan has failed to stop the Modi storm. According to the trends the BJP is set to win more than 50 seats in Uttar Pradesh.

In Karnataka the BJP is almost sweeping all constituencies, while in West Bengal the BJP is giving a tough  fight to Trinamool Congress.

In Maharashtra which has 48 seats, the BJP-Sena alliance is leading in 38 seats. As per the trends the BJP is set to sweep Rajasthan. In Delhi, the BJP is leading in all 7 seats.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat. Amit Shah, the party's president, is heading towards a win, by a massive margin. Sonia Gandhi is leading from Rae Bareli, while Rahul is leading from Amethi.

- Radheshyam Jadhav  

10:15 AM | Dr Avinash Umesh of the BJP is leading over Subhash Rathod of Congress by 2560 votes for the assembly elections in Karnataka.

-Anil Urs

10:10 AM | The Sensex has registered a record high of 39,591.77. Currently, it trades at 39,816, up by 706 points, gaining nearly 2 per cent. The Nifty is quoted at 11,947.40, gaining 209.50 points or up by 1.77 per cent.

Read the latest Markets update here

10 AM | The BJP is all set to sweep Uttar Pradesh. The party has 55 seats on its own, its ally, Apna Dal is leading 1 seat. The Congress is leading 2 seats. The SP is leading in 7 seats while the BSP is leading in 11 seats.

9:50 AM | As per the lead trends, the BJP is heading towards a majority on its own.

The BJP is leading in 262 seats, while the NDA is leading in more than 330 seats.

The Congress party is leading in 54 seats.

According to the trends the BJP has put up a solid performance in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra. While in West Bengal the TMC is leading the chart.

Tough fight is on the cards in Rae Bareli where BJP candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh is giving a tough fight to Sonia Gandhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is marching towards a victory in Varanasi.

9:40 AM | BJP President Amit Shah was seen leading with 20,000 votes from the Gandhinagar constituency.

Of the total 26 Parliamentary constituencies in the State, BJP is ahead on 22 seats, while Congress is leading on two seats.

Congress' Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly, Paresh Dhanani leading from Amreli, and Babubhai Katara leading from Dahod

-Rutam Vora

Also read:On Modi's home turf, its a cakewalk for BJP

9:35 AM | The BJP is leading in 200 seats, and along with its allies, the party is now leading in almost 280 seats.

While Congress is ahead in 58 seats, the overall count for the UPA is 100 seats.

Sonia Gandhi is leading from Rae Bareli constituency, while Rahul Gandhi is leading from Wayanad. Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh is leading against Poonam Sinha in Lucknow and Kanhaiya Kumar is trailing against Giriraj Singh in Begusarai.  

- Radheshyam Jadhav

9:30 AM | The DMK is leading in 12 Parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu, according to trends available from the Election Commission.

Tamil Nadu election result trends

The DMK is ahead in Arakkonam, Cuddalore, Erode, Kallakurichi. K Kanimozhi is leading in Thoothukkudi. The Congress' H Vasanthakumar is leading in Kanniyakumari. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is leading in Madurai, while Communist Party of India is leading in Nagapattinam.

9:15 AM | Former Union Minister M Veerappa Moily of Congress is trailing by 7,083 votes to BN Bache Gwoda of BJP in Chikkaballapur.

9:10 AM | Should investors in Indian stocks and mutual funds be worried about the coming general elections? A section of analysts is of the opinion that general elections do not impact the market much, besides causing short-term volatility. Some others think that such insouciant attitude is unwarranted as the fate of the economy and Indian corporates hinges on this election.

Read more

9:05 AM | The BJP-led NDA has taken a lead in initial trends one hour after counting started for 542 Lok Sabha constituencies.

The BJP is leading on 101 seats, while Congress on 40 seats.

Trends show BJP emerging stronger across the States. Among regional parties the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is leading on 1 seat while Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) is leading on 9 seats.

According to reports the BJP is racing ahead in almost all major States, including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.  PM Narendra Modi, senior BJP Minister Nitin Gadkari were leading in Varanasi and Nagpur respectively. Congress was leading Punjab.  

- Radheshyam Jadhav

8:50 AM | Amid tight security, counting of votes for 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana today in 126 counting halls located at 35 places across the State.

As many as 443 candidates from various political parties and independents are in the fray in the polls that were held on April 11 in the first phase. The Electoral exercise was undertaken in 34,603 polling stations and 18,526 polling locations.

8:45 AM | Counting of votes for 38 Parliamentary segments and bypolls to 22 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu began amid tight security today. Trends are expected to emerge after about an hour.

Security beefed up at counting centre

The bypolls and Parliamentary elections are crucial for both the ruling AIADMK and main opposition DMK with the former looking to retain power in Tamil Nadu and the latter eyeing a comeback after consecutive poll setbacks.

Counting of votes is underway in 45 centres across the state, with over 17,000 polling staff and 45,000 police personnel on duty. As many as 1,520 personnel from the Central Armed Paramalitary Forces and over 38,000 from state police have been deployed on duty. A total of 88 counting observers are tasked to oversee the counting process.

8:40 AM | Counting of the postal ballot for the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka for 28 constituencies shows that the BJP has taken an early lead in at least three constituencies while the Congress is ahead in two. Read more

8:30 AM|  Kerala has been drawing an interest disproportionate to its size and profile in the Lok Sabha elections for three reasons: Rahul Gandhi, Sabarimala case and the fate of the CPI(M). Read more

8:00 AM | Counting of votes for the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections began on Thursday morning across the country. The counting exercise is on in over 4,000 counting centres amid concerns raised by opposition parties over alleged tampering of EVMs. They have asked the Election Commission to ensure transparency in counting.

Election Commission officials said results are expected only by late evening.

According to procedure, postal ballots would be the first to be counted. The number of service voters stands at 18 lakh and these include personnel of the armed forces, central police force personnel and state police personnel who are posted outside their constituencies. Diplomats and support staff posted in Indian embassies abroad are also counted as service voters.

Out of the 18 lakh registered voters, 16.49 lakh have sent their postal ballots to their respective returning officers as on May 17. The exercise of counting postal ballots manually will itself take a couple of hours at least, an EC official said.

7:30 AM | For the first time in Lok Sabha polls, the EC will tally vote count on Electronic Voting Machines with voter verified paper audit trail slips in five polling stations in each assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency. It will effectively mean that out of nearly 10.3 lakh polling stations, the EVM-VVPAT matching will take place in 20,600 such stations.

In case of a mismatch, the results based on paper slip count will be considered as final.

The entire exercise of EVM-paper trail machine matching will take an additional four to five hours, EC officials said.

7:15 AM | The voting percentage of 67.11 this time was the highest ever-voter turnout in Indian parliamentary elections.

7 AM| Out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, elections were held in 542 constituencies as the EC had cancelled polls to the Vellore constituency on the ground of excessive use of money power.

6:30 AM | The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday alerted all state chief secretaries and directors general of police about possibility of eruption of violence in different parts of the country during counting of votes. “This is in the wake of calls given and statements made in various quarters for inciting violence and causing disruption on the day of counting of votes,” a Home Ministry statement said.

It also asked states and UTs to take adequate measures for the security of strong rooms and venues of counting of votes.

6:00 AM | Counting for the 542 Lok Sabha seats in the general elections 2019 is set to begin from 8 am. For the first time, the voter-verifiable paper trail machines (VVPAT) counting has been introduced and the results are likely to get delayed by five to six hours due to paper trail verification.

The postal ballots would be counted first, followed by the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) counting. The VVPATs would be counted in the end. Nearly 39.6 lakh EVMs and 17.4 lakh VVPATs were used in 10.35 lakh polling stations across the country.

The elections were held in seven phases - April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12, and May 19. Out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, elections were held in 542 constituencies as the EC had cancelled polls to the Vellore constituency

The Exit polls predicted a majority for BJP and its NDA alliance and a second term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Read the exit polls prediction here

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