New Delhi: Within an hour of the start of counting, the BJP and allies seem set to form the next government under Narendra Modi. The BJP-led NDA is leading in 241 seats. The Congress is lagging far behind; in Amethi, Rahul Gandhi is trailing. DEVELOPMENT If this trend continues, the BJP-led NDA could end up with almost 290 seats of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, a very safe majority. Congress and allies could get 124 to 131 and Others, 129-136. This projection is based only on the trends right now. Some of these could change in later rounds of voting. The Congress and allies are ahead in only 68 seats and, importantly, are trailing in many seats they had had won last time. The BJP is gaining most of those seats. In crucial Uttar Pradesh, the BJP is way ahead and is gaining seats. The Congress, Samajwadi Party and BSP are struggling in single digits. In Seemandhra, Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Jagan Reddy’s YSR Congress are in a neck and neck contest. In Telangana, the TRS has taken an early lead. In Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK is giving no other party elbow room in the leads available. The Congress is leading in one. In Karnataka, the BJP is leading. In Kerala the Congress-led UDF and the Left-led LDF are neck and neck. Narendra Modi’s Gujarat, which hopes to give the country its next Prime Minister, looks set for a BJP sweep. As does BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh. The marathon six-week parliamentary election saw a 66 per cent voter turnout, a new record; 55.16 crore people voted in 543 Lok Sabha constituencies. Before a single vote was counted, posters appeared overnight across Varanasi congratulating Narendra Modi, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, for his victory. Mr Modi has contested from Varanasi. Exit polls said the Congress faces its worst ever defeat after 10 years in power. The Congress’ chief spokesperson Ajay Maken said this morning that the party was not “willing to concede defeat,” but said he took “responsibility for failure of the Congress media strategy.” The BJP’s best showing so far was in elections in 1998 and 1999 when it won 182 seats and ran the country until a shock defeat at the hands of the Congress in 2004. Source : NDTV.com
