Lok Sabha polls: NDA leading in 100 plus seats in early trends

New Delhi, June 4: With counting progressing in Lok Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is leading on more than 100 seats as per the latest trends according to TV channels.

Around 642 million people voted in Lok Sabha elections held over seven phases in a mammoth six-week period. The counting of votes began starting with 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 Lok Sabha elections for 543 seats of the lower house were held across seven phases.

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 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.

With counting began for the Lok Sabha elections, which have seen the largest voter participation, the electoral fate of several leaders across the political spectrum will be decided.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are among the senior BJP leaders in the fray.

Key opposition leaders, including former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, NCP's Supriya Sule, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, are also contesting the poll.

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.

Even before the counting of the votes, the Bharatiya Janata Party won one seat of Surat Lok Sabha.

Earlier on April 22, Mukesh Dalal won the election "unopposed". Congress nominee Nilesh Kumbhani's nomination was rejected. His candidacy was rejected because of alleged discrepancies in the signatures of the proposers.