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The votes for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 have been counted, and the results have defied the predictions made by exit polls. The BJP-led NDA alliance is currently leading in around 300 seats, while the INDIA bloc has crossed the 227-seat mark. This unexpected outcome has drawn significant attention, as the nation eagerly awaits the final tally. The counting of votes commenced at 8 am, and the focus is on whether the exit poll forecasts will be validated or proven inaccurate. If the NDA emerges victorious under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it would mark a historic third consecutive term for the alliance, making Modi the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to achieve this feat. While most of the exit polls had anticipated a comfortable victory for the NDA, with over 350 seats, at least three major exit polls – India Today-My Axis India, India TV-CNX, and News24-Todays Chanakya – had predicted an even more impressive result, forecasting a 400-plus seat majority for the ruling coalition.

The 2019 Lok Sabha Elections saw the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secure a comfortable majority, exceeding the predictions of most pollsters. Contrary to the exit polls, which had estimated around 285 seats for the NDA, the coalition ended up winning a total of 353 seats, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alone securing 303 seats. In contrast, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), led by the Congress party, managed only 93 seats, with the Congress party winning 52 seats. This outcome was a stark contrast to the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, where the NDA was estimated to win between 257 and 340 seats, but ultimately secured 336 seats, leading to Narendra Modi's first term as Prime Minister. In the recent 2024 elections, the Congress party is leading in around 100 seats, a significant improvement from their 2019 performance of 52 seats. However, the latest trends suggest that the NDA is likely to end up with 280-290 seats, while the INDIA bloc, the opposition coalition, is projected to secure 221 seats, with the remaining 23 seats going to other parties. The regional powerhouses, Naidu and the NDA leaders, wield significant influence. Mamata Banerjee commands her stronghold in West Bengal, while Akhilesh Yedav secures victories in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress party appears poised to approach the 100-seat mark, as per the assessment.

Former Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani, who previously won the Amethi seat in 2019, is currently trailing behind the Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma by a substantial margin of over 50,000 votes in the same constituency. The opposition parties have joined forces under the INDIA alliance, ensuring a united front against the BJP in numerous constituencies. The Congress party has campaigned relentlessly, emphasizing the need for a caste census and drawing attention to the pressing issues of youth unemployment and the rising cost of living. The opposition has also sought to challenge the BJP's '400 paar' slogan, suggesting that it is a prerequisite for a constitutional amendment through a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha. Additionally, BJP leader Maneka Gandhi, an eight-time Lok Sabha MP, is trailing by nearly 10,000 votes in the Sultanpur seat to the Samajwadi Party's Ram Bhual Nishad. Despite the final results not being fully determined, it is evident that the INDIA alliance has mounted a formidable challenge to the BJP.

The remarkable performance of the INDIA coalition has been a game-changer in the current election. The INDIA coalition focused on local concerns, urging the government to address pressing issues like rising prices, limited job opportunities, and inflation. Interestingly, unlike previous elections in 2014 and 2019, Prime Minister Modi struggled to set the agenda, and the Congress manifesto emerged as a central discussion point during the campaigns. The INDIA coalition also leveraged the Prime Minister's '400 paar' call, arguing that the BJP would seek to amend the Constitution with such a significant mandate. Rahul Gandhi is leading comfortably in the Wayanad constituency, with a margin of over 1.4 lakh votes, and is also ahead in Rae Bareli. The real surprise lies in the heartland state of Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP had dominated in 2014 and maintained its stronghold in 2019. However, this time, most exit polls had predicted an edge for the INDIA coalition. As of around 11 am, the INDIA coalition, comprising the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in the state, holds a narrow lead over the NDA in a close and intense race.

The party has not secured any seats in the states of Maharashtra and Haryana, and it has not yet achieved any victories in the state of Punjab. As expected, the BJP's losses were recovered in Odisha, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and partly Telangana. Voting for 543 seats took place in seven phases and ended on Saturday. The majority score is 272. Compared to 2019, the composition of both countries has changed, with the state of Maharashtra becoming the center of developments. NDA ally Shiv Sena left the alliance to join the opposition camp and parted ways a few years later. The National Congress Party (NCP), led by Maharashtra strongman Sharad Pawar, also split with factions Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar joining the NDA. India has a majority in Haryana, the BJP's home state, with the former leading in six seats and the latter in four. India and the NDA lead with one seat each in Manipur state, where the violence began. Akish Yadav's Samajwadi Party's strong performance helped it take the lead in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, perhaps the most shocking result of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The Lok Sabha elections, which have had many twists and turns so far, including in the BJP stronghold of Uttar Pradesh, continue to follow this pattern. The Indian Congress bloc, comprising Sharad Pawar's NCP and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray), has a significant lead over Mahawati's alliance in Maharashtra. According to insiders, the India bloc is leading with 29 seats, compared to the Mahooti coalition's 18 seats. The Mahooti alliance includes the BJP, Ajit Pawar's NCP and Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena. In Maharashtra, there were many twists and turns in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, including a split in the Nationalist Congress Party. Ajit Pawar has split from his uncle and NCP leader Shard Pawar's party and merged his party with the ruling Shinde Sena-BJP government. Furthermore, he pitted his wife Suntra Pawar against his cousin and Shard Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule in Baramati. According to the trend, Supriya Sule, who is seeking re-election from Baramati, narrowly defeated her sister-in-law. The BJP-led NDA was expected to remain in power for a historic third term, but its lead has crossed the halfway mark. However, according to insiders, the Indian bloc has made significant gains and is at the top with more than 220 seats.