NDA Wins Historic 3rd Term, BJP Falls Short Of Majority

Defying exit poll predictions, the Opposition INDIA alliance showed a remarkable resurgence while the ruling BJP-led NDA coalition was nearing the 300 mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha, well poised to form the government at the Centre for the third time in a row.

- VINAY KUMAR

• INDIA BLOC STAGES A REMARKABLE REVIVAL

As the results of the marathon seven-phase Lok Sabha election came in on Tuesday evening, it became almost certain that the country was set to return to coalition-era politics once again as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on its own was ahead on 240 seats, the NDA on 296. The INDIA bloc was ahead on 228 seats and the Congress touched the mark of 99 seats, making impressive gains as compared to the grand old party’s dismal electoral performance in 2014 and 2019 polls when it was reduced to 44 and 52 seats respectively.

Aiming for 370 seats on its own and setting the target of 400 plus for the NDA, the BJP was let down by Uttar Pradesh which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha.

The Samajwadi Party (SP), led by Akhilesh Yadav, appeared all set to reap the rich harvest of 37 seats from the state.

Along with its alliance partner Congress, the SP was ahead in 43 of 80 seats while the BJP was leading on 33. In the 2014 and 2019 elections, the saffron party had swept Uttar Pradesh, decimating the Opposition.

The trends and the results from the key state showed that the issue of Ram Temple failed to click with the voters. To its embarrassment, the Faizabad seat in the vicinity of Ayodhya was bagged by the SP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh won their Varanasi and Lucknow seats with comfortable margins.