NDA tally dips lower at end of polls

Aaj Tak predicted 248 for the NDA at the end of the final phase of polls.

NDA will fail to notch up a majority in parliament or barely make it, exit polls after the close of staggered national elections said on Monday.

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At the close of the five-phase polling Monday, the Aajtak channel predicted 248 seats for Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in the ruling coalition.

While the BJP and allies were tipped to lose 54 seats since the 1999 elections the Congress and its allies were projected to gain the same number to bring their tally to 191.

Aajtak predicted 104 seats for non-Congress and non-BJP parties.

STAR Television projected a slightly more comfortable 263-275 seats for the BJP and its allies and 174-186 for the Congress and its allies. Other parties were tipped to get 86 to 98 seats.

Any party or coalition would need at least 272 seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, to form a government.