As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues to fall short of the majority mark in the Lok Sabha polls, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step down. “He used to portray himself as extraordinary. Now, it’s evident that the outgoing Prime Minister is on the verge of becoming a former one. Taking moral responsibility, he should resign. That’s the message of this election,” Ramesh stated in a post on X.
According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP is currently leading in 242 seats, while the majority mark stands at 272. The Congress is ahead in 95 seats, followed by the Samajwadi Party with 36, DMK with 21, Trinamool Congress with 31, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) with 10, NCP (SP) with 7, CPI(M) with 4, and Aam Aadmi Party with 3.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi leads, followed by Congress’ Ajay Rai in Varanasi. Approximately 642 million voters participated in the Lok Sabha elections conducted over seven phases spanning a mammoth six-week period. The vote count commenced with postal ballots amid stringent security measures.
The counting process also covers the State Legislative Assemblies of 175 constituencies in Andhra Pradesh, 147 in Odisha, and results of bypolls in 25 constituencies. Stringent security arrangements have been implemented to ensure the smooth conduct of the counting process for over 8,000 candidates in this general election.
The BJP aims for a third consecutive term in power, while the Opposition, united under the umbrella of the INDIA bloc, endeavors to unseat the ruling party. Most exit polls have forecasted a consecutive term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with many predicting a two-thirds majority for the ruling BJP-led NDA.