The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured 291 seats out of 543, while the opposition bloc, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) secured 234 seats and others got 18 as results for the Lok Sabha general elections were declared on Tuesday.
The results went against expectations for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose “400 paar” claims took a massive hit. Congress and other opposition parties, who came together to form the INDI Alliance performed exceptionally as the people of the nation gave their mandate.
The BJP secured 240 seats, falling short of the magic number ‘272’ by themselves, while the Congress won 99 seats, followed by the Samajwadi Party bagged 37, Trinamool Congress won 29, and others secured 65.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi won against Congress candidate Ajay Rai from the Varanasi seat by a margin of 1,52,513 votes. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also won by a margin of 7,44,716 votes. Bollywood actor and BJP candidate from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi, Kangana Ranaut won by a margin of 74,755 votes, while senior BJP leader Smriti Irani faced a disappointing loss at the hands of Congress candidate Kishori Lal from Amethi where she fell short by 1,67,196 votes.
Former Congerss president and senior leader Rahul Gandhi secured resounding wins in both the seats he contested from – Wayanad (Kerala) by 3,64,422 votes and Rae Bareli (Uttar Pradesh) by 3,90,030 votes. Senior leaders Shashi Tharoor and KC Venugopal also won from their respective seats as Congress did brilliantly in Uttar Pradesh.
Elsewhere, Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party did well and is part of the reason for BJP’s poor showing in the Central Indian state. Yadav won from his Kannauj seat by a margin of 1,70,922 votes.
Sexual harassment accused former WFI chief and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's son Karan Bhushan Singh won from the Kaiserganj seat.
Jailed pro-Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh emerged as a surprising winner from Punjab’s Khadoor Shaib seat while contesting in the elections as an independent candidate. He is currently lodged at Dibrugarh jail in Assam.
Elsewhere in Assam, the BJP fared better even as they faltered elsewhere. The Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP in Assam managed to secure 9 seats out of 14.
However, the Congress did have its fair share of big wins as they emerged victorious in Jorhat, Dhubri, and Nagaon.
The BJP emerged victorious by winning a total of 9 seats, with its allies Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the United Peoples' Party Liberal (UPPL) winning one seat each.
On the other hand, Congress won 3 seats out of 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.
The 9 BJP seats won are Darrang-Udalguri, Dibrugarh, Diphu, Guwahati, Karimganj, Kaziranga, Lakhimpur, Silchar and Sonitpur with comfortable margins.
Meanwhile, the Congress won strong positions in Dhubri, Nagaon, and Jorhat seats. The AGP and UPPL won in Barpeta and Kokrajhar, respectively.
