Early trends of the counting of votes showed the BJP-led ruling NDA leading in more than 300 seats with the BJP at 270-plus. The trends showed the Congress at 51 and the UPA leading in around 100 seats.
The counting of votes began at 8 am. Election Commission officials said that final results are expected only by late evening. The trends of the counting are in accordance with exit polls results, which have forecasted a clear majority for the BJP-led NDA.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several union ministers, BJP chief Amit Shah, the Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi are among key leaders who contested the polls.
Most exit polls predicted the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance(NDA) is on course to retain power for a second term. However, the opposition parties have trashed results of the exit polls, claiming that the BJP will suffer severe defeat.
It is remarkable that the 2019 Lok Sabha elections were held for 542 seats from April 11 to May 19, including 48 parliamentary constituencies of Maharashtra. Around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million eligible people exercised their franchise to elect 542 members of the Lok Sabha from a total of 8,049 contestants. In the 2014 elections, the BJP won 282 seats while the Congress suffered a severe defeat, getting an all-time low of 44.
