Lok Sabha election 2024 highlights: BJP's huddle at JP Nadda's house day before counting

The Congress and its INDIA bloc allies are trying to undermine the integrity of India's electoral process, the BJP alleged on Sunday and urged the Election Commission to prevent any attempts of "violence and unrest" during the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls on June 4.

A BJP delegation comprising Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal also urged the poll panel to take cognisance of the "systematic attempts" being made to undermine the electoral process and initiate stringent action against those responsible.

The delegation submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission (EC) in this regard.

"We had to call upon the Election Commission today in light of the repeated attempts by a section of political parties, like the Congress and their INDI alliance partners, and also by certain motivated civil society groups and NGOs who are trying their level best to undermine the integrity of India's electoral process," Goyal told reporters after meeting EC officials.

After taking part in the INDIA bloc meeting, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's wife Kalpana Soren asked everyone to wait till June 4, when everything will be cleared.

"When you have waited so long, wait for 4th June. You will get to know everything on the 4th of June," Kalpana said.

INDIA bloc held a meeting on June 2 to discuss preparations for the counting day on June 4.

Congress too held different meetings- first with their Lok Sabha candidates and then with Pradesh Congress Committee Presidents of different states to know the ground report after exit-polls prediction that the BJP-led NDA will form the government at the Centre with a full majority.

To manage post-election violence, nearly 400 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) companies (over 40,000 personnel) will remain in West Bengal until June 19. A significant portion of the CAPFs will consist of the Central Reserve Police Force: Official sources

The Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress have once again locked horns over the Sangli Lok Sabha seat. Without naming the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said that his party would not keep quiet about what had happened in Sangli during the elections. Read more

A voter turnout of 62.80 per cent has been recorded in the 13 Lok Sabha Constituencies in Punjab, which went to the polls on June 1 in the seventh and final phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, said the state Chief Electoral Officer, Sibin C

It was the latest revised voter turnout from 55.65 per cent reported on Saturday. However, the revised figure is still lower than the 65.96 per cent voter turnout registered during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The Chief Electoral Officer said that as per the data received late on June 1 night, Bathinda has recorded the highest voter turnout of 69.36 per cent.

Amritsar recorded 56.06 per cent, Anandpur Sahib 61.98 per cent, Faridkot 63.34 per cent, Fatehgarh Sahib 62.53 per cent, Ferozepur 67.02 per cent, Gurdaspur 66.67 per cent and Hoshiarpur 58.86 per cent.

After the Bharatiya Janata Party secured 46 seats in the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh assembly, Chief Minister Pema Khandu thanked the people and assured them that the BJP government would fulfill all the promises made by the party in its poll manifesto.

Votes were counted for 50 Assembly segments for which elections were held in the northeastern State along with Lok Sabha polls on April 19. The rest 10 seats were won by the BJP party uncontested. The BJP won 46 seats in the 60-member assembly.

"I bow in gratitude to the great people of Arunachal Pradesh for their continued trust in the vision of PM Narendra Modi ji and sincere efforts of Team Arunachal in taking care of the well-being of every section of society," Pema Khandu posted on X.

He vowed not to let the "process of building a self-reliant Arunachal Pradesh get derailed under any circumstances."

"Your overwhelming support to BJP4Arunachal is in sync with our collective commitment and endeavours to take the state to the zenith of inclusive development. It's our firm resolve not to let the process of building a self-reliant Arunachal Pradesh derailed under any circumstances," he said.

The biggest festival of democracy, the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, are concluding today in our nation, the Mother of Democracy. After a three-day spiritual journey in Kanniyakumari, I have just boarded the plane for Delhi. Through the day, Kashi and numerous other seats have been in the midst of voting. My mind is filled with so many experiences and emotions... I feel a boundless flow of energy within myself. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are the first in the Amrit Kaal. I began my campaign a few months ago from Meerut, the land of the First War of Independence of 1857. Since then, I have traversed across the length and breadth of our great nation. The final rally of these elections took me to Hoshiarpur in Punjab, the land of the great Gurus and a land associated with Sant Ravidas Ji. After that, I came to Kanniyakumari, at the feet of Maa Bharti. Dig deeper

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath jointly participated in 15 public meetings, five road shows, the PM’s nomination in Varanasi and paid a visit to the Kashi Vishwanath temple too -- all during the long-drawn 2024 Lok Sabha poll campaign. Read more

Expressing confidence that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is going to emerge victorious in the elections, TDP supremo Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday appreciated the efforts of the leaders and workers of all the alliance partners for the success of the NDA in these polls.

"All the exit polls indicated the victory of the NDA and the alliance is going to form the governments both at the Centre and in the State," Naidu told the candidates who are in the race for Lok Sabha or State Assembly seats.

The TDP supremo organised a Zoom meeting with the NDA candidates who are in the race for the Lok Sabha and the Assembly.

Chandrababu said that the Jana Sena chief, Pawan Kalyan, the president of the State unit of the BJP, Purandheswari, and the leaders along with the activists of all the three alliance partners had worked hard for the victory of the NDA. He also gave a road map for the leaders and the activists of the NDA on the efforts to be taken during the counting process on Tuesday.

After the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections concluded on Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said that counting for the Lok Sabha election will begin at 8 AM at 81 counting centres in 75 districts across the state on Tuesday.

"On 4 June, Lok Sabha election counting will take place and it will begin from 8 am. In the state of Uttar Pradesh, in 75 districts, there are 81 counting centres where the counting of votes will take place... Out of 80 Lok Sabha seats, the counting of votes for 35 seats will take place in one counting centre, the counting of votes for 37 seats will take place in 2 counting centres each, and the counting of seats of 8 Lok Sabha seats will be done in 3 centres each. Postal ballots will be counted at the headquarters of the returning officer of the parliamentary constituency," Rinwa said.

Further talking about the arrangement being made to have a free and fair election Rinwa said, "To keep a vigilant eye on the counting of an election, the election commission has also appointed additional observers and a total of 179 observers has been appointed and 15 of the observers has been allocated with 1 assembly constituency while 104 observers allocated 2 assembly constituency and 60 were giver three constituencies.

Assam Minister Atul Bora appreciated the predictions made by exit polls regarding the Lok Sabha elections, and said the Bharatiya Janata Party had anticipated similar results during campaigning.

He also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is predicted to become the PM for the third straight term, saying he has done a lot for the north-east.

"For the election campaign, we went to every corner of Assam and we saw the support given by people to our candidates and we had anticipated that this time again NDA govt will come back to power. Exit polls have come and it is highlighting what we had anticipated. We will get a huge majority and PM Modi will become Prime Minister again. PM Modi has done a lot for the northeast and it a matter of great pride for us," Bora said at a press conference on Sunday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win all 10 seats in Haryana on June 4 and the party will form the government at the Centre for the third consecutive term, said Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Barala, convener of state election management committee, on Sunday. Read more

While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders rejoiced at the exit poll results predicted a landslide victory for the National Democratic Alliance, the opposition INDIA bloc leaders rubbished the outcomes saying that they will be forming the government at the Centre winning at least 295 seats.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren said that the INDIA bloc will win more than 10 seats in the state and more than 295 seats in the country.

"...INDIA alliance is winning more than 295 seats...there is no truth in exit polls...In Jharkhand also our situation is good. We will win more than 10 seats in Jharkhand," Soren said speaking to reporters on Sunday.

The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is a partner in the INDIA bloc and has a coalition government with the Congress in the state.

After Congress MP Rahul Gandhi referred to the exit polls as "Modi media polls" that predicted the BJP-led NDA getting a majority to form the government for the third term, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the Congress party does not believe in top institutions of the country like the Supreme Court and the Election Commission and does not even believe themselves which is why people, in turn, do not believe them.

"The problem with the Congress party is that they do not believe in the Supreme Court, they do not believe in the Election Commission, the CAG, in the Parliament. Who do they believe in? They don't even believe in themselves, and this is why the people also don't believe in them. They do not even believe in the EVMs," Joshi said speaking to ANI on Sunday.

Further taking another dig at the Congress the Union Minister said that the Congress has a "manufacturing defect" and blames the poll body, EVMs and the media when they lose in elections.

With the seven-phase voting across India having ended on Saturday, the wait for the results begins. Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the highest after Uttar Pradesh, is a crucial state in the contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition's INDIA bloc. In the past two Lok Sabha elections, the NDA won most of the seats in Maharashtra, winning 42 seats in 2014 and 41 in 2019. Read more

Dismissing the predictions of exit poll results which show a favourable outcome for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha elections, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government saying that these exit polls are not going to counter the "king" who is an "astrologer" as well as a "dictator."

In a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tikait while speaking to reporters on Sunday said, "We have already said that in a country where the king is an astrologer and a dictator, what will the exit polls do? Who is going to counter whatever the king says?"

The farmer leader said that if the NDA has set a target of more than 400 seats, it shows that the "planning" for it was already done.

Dismissing the predictions of exit poll results which show a favourable outcome for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha elections, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the results of elections to the Lok Sabha will be declared after "Matganana" (counting of votes) and not through "Manganana" (counting of thoughts).

"The result of the election will come from 'counting of votes', not from 'counting of thoughts'! 'Mann ki Baat' (one's thoughts) does not apply to elections, only 'Jan ki Baat' works. When the public is aware and vigilant, no one can do as he pleases," Yadav said in a post on 'X'.

Yadav hinted at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popular radio talk show 'Mann ki Baat' in which he interacts with countrymen and speaks about various initiatives taken by his government.

Earlier on Saturday, Yadav exuded confidence in the INDIA bloc forming the government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections results will be declared on June 4 and said that the Bharatiya Janata Party will not cross 140 seats.

Besides the official swearing-in ceremony of the new government, a confident BJP — boosted by the exit polls — is learnt to be planning a “political event”, which is likely to be scheduled for the weekend, reported Indian Express.

Meanwhile, ahead of counting of votes on Tuesday, the President’s Secretariat floated a tender on May 28 for “supplying of decorative indoor plants and ornamental plants for swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister and other ministers in Rashtrapati Bhavan”. The tender, with an estimated cost of ₹21.97 lakh, will be opened on Monday and the contractor will have five days to fulfil the order.

The Election Commission has ordered repolling at one polling station each in the Barasat and Mathurapur Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal on Monday, a day before the counting of votes.

As per the order from the poll body, repolling will be conducted at 61 Kadambagachi Saradar Pada FP School, Room No 2 of 120-Deganga Assembly Constituency in 17 Barasat Parliamentary Constituency and 26 Aaddir Mahal Srichaitanya Bidyapith FP School of 131-Kakdwip Assembly Constituency in 20-Mathurapur (SC) Parliamentary Constituency in West Bengal.

On the exit poll results predicting a majority for NDA for the third term in parliamentary elections, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Sunday said he had the feeling of ‘déjà vu’ drawing similarities with elections five years ago.

In a post on X Abdullah said: “Déjà vu. 5 years ago during the campaign – ‘he’s gone back to Hindu-Muslim, the BJP is in trouble’. Come the exit polls – ‘have you seen the numbers? I’m depressed, this can’t be happening’. This year it’s been exactly the same – ‘he’s relying on Muslim bashing, the BJP is in big trouble, they won’t cross 250’. Exit poll time – ‘damn, I’m depressed. How can this be happening again?’.”

“Gotta love this little social media echo chamber where wishful thinking is passed off as the national narrative,” he said further.

As the parliamentary elections across India ended on Saturday, a number of exit polls have predicted a majority for the BJP led NDA coalition.

The West Bengal police on Sunday banned assembly of five or more people under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.PC) at the Najat area of trouble-torn Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district following unrest that started during the last phase of Lok Sabha polls the day before, officials said.

The Sandeshkhali assembly constituency is a part of the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat that went to polls on Sunday.

“Villagers, especially some women, blocked the movement of police personnel and attacked an officer from the Najat police station after five men were arrested for creating trouble on Saturday. The officer suffered head injury. Section 144 will be enforced at several locations till the morning of June 4,” a district official said on condition of anonymity.

“A state Rapid Action Force contingent and Central paramilitary force personnel, who are on duty during the elections, have been deployed at various spots in the Najat police station area,” the officer added.

A day after all seven phases of the general elections 2024 ended, a multi-party delegation from the Opposition and another delegation Bharatiya Janata Party visited the Election Commission of India to submit their respective appeals on safeguarding the electoral process as the nation heads towards counting the votes on June 4. The Congress and other opposition parties, in their letter and memorandum, both dated June 1, asked the poll body to issue step-by-step guidelines on how the votes are counted, and to issue “urgent” directions that the postal ballots are counted first, as required by the law. They also asked the EC to withdraw a May 2019 letter that no longer required postal ballot results to be finalised before EVM counting.

The BJP, too, asked the EC to ensure that every official is “fully conversant” with the poll body’s counting protocol and alleged that Congress and “certain motivated civil society groups” were trying “to undermine the integrity of the ongoing electoral process”.

The Opposition’s delegation included senior Congress leaders Manu Abhishek Singhvi and Salman Khurshid, CPI(M) secretary general Sitaram Yechury and general secretary D. Raja, DMK’’s TR Baalu, and SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav. The letter from the Opposition was signed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP (Sharad Pawar) president Sharad Pawar, Yechury, Raja, SP president Akhilesh Yadav, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Baalu, RDJ chairperson Tejashwi Yadav, J&K NC president Farooq Abdullah, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha vice president Kalpana Soren, Shiv Sena (UBT) secretary Anil Desai, CPI (ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, and Vikassheel Insaan Party national convenor Mukesh Sahani. The memorandum on postal ballots was signed by INDIA parties represented through Congress’s Randeep Singh Surjewala.

Lok Sabha elections LIVE: The day before the vote counting for the Lok Sabha elections on June 4, the Election Commission will hold a press conference in Delhi on Monday at 12:30 PM.

The media invite from the poll body states, "Press Conference by Election Commission of India on General Elections 2024."

This may be the first time in the country's electoral history that the Election Commission has held a press conference at the end of the polling process.