Lok Sabha election results: BJP ahead on 194 seats, Congress leading on 76

New Delhi, June 04: As the counting of votes for Lok Sabha polls that began on Tuesday morning progressed, early trends in 406 seats showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party leading on 194 seats, while the Congress led on 76 seats, as per the Election Commission of India.

According to the ECI, Samajwadi Party was leading on 30 seats.

Meanwhile, the Telugu Desam was leading on 14, Shiv Sena - SHS on 10 seats, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - DMK on 9 seats, Janata Dal (United) - JD(U) on 6 seats, Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party - YSRCP on 5 seats, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackrey) - SHSUBT on 5 seats, All India Trinamool Congress - AITC on 5 seats and Communist Party of India (Marxist) - CPI(M) on 4 seats.

Nationalist Congress Party - Sharadchandra Pawar - NCPSP is leading on 4 seats, Rashtriya Janata Dal - RJD on 3 seats, and Janata Dal (Secular) - JD(S) on 3 seats.

Around 642 million people voted in Lok Sabha elections held over seven phases in a mammoth six-week period. Counting of votes began this morning with counting of postal ballot papers amid tight security. The counting for State Legislative Assemblies of 175 Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and 147 Assembly constituencies in Odisha and 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 of them projecting a two-thirds majority for the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

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.

Two polls predicted the BJP would also improve its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. 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.

The BJP-led NDA improved its numbers in 2019 Lok Sabha polls compared to the 2014 election. It is again poised for an upward trajectory, the exit polls predicted.

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.