New Delhi

The BJP-led NDA is set to form its third successive government at the Centre with the Lok Sabha election results on Tuesday throwing up a verdict that also brought cheer to the opposition INDIA bloc as it put up a strong performance with Congress winning 99 seats.

At the end of the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections, NDA led by BJP has 296 seats in its kitty, a comfortable majority in the 543 member Lok Sabha.

According to analysts, the BJP has the numbers to form the government with or without Telgu Desam Party led by Chabndrababu Naidu which has won 16 and Janata Dal United led by Nitish Kumar that won 12 sets in the election.

INDIA bloc won 234 seats with Congress beinging not only numbers but also its stature as a leading opposition party. The Lok Sabha contest turned out to be much tighter than the predictions of exit polls which had given a sweeping victory to NDA.  

Though Nitish Kumar has not spoken about his association with BJP after the results, BJP claims he is coming to New Delhi with letter of support for the Modi-led NDA government to be presented to the Presiodent as and when the new government is formed.  

Chirag Paswan, whose party LJP has won five seats has already pledged his unconditional support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Apart from its clean sweep in Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the best news for BJP came from Odisha where it is poised to 19 of 21 Lok Sabha seats and will also form its first government. BJP’s campaign banking on “Odisha asmita” was successful in ousting over two-decade-old Naveen Patnaik government from the state.

 The BJP and its allies TDP and Janasena Party did well in Andhra Pradesh, winning 21 of 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state. TDP is poised to win 16 seats, BJP three and Janasena Party two. The alliance smashed the YSCRP ousting it from power with TDP alone poised to win a huge 135 seats in the 175-member assembly.

In his remarks, after most of the results came in the evening,  Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the BJP-led NDA will form its third successive government and that it is the victory of the resolve of Viksit Bharat, of 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas' and of the strong faith of people in India's Constitution.

 PM Modi said at the party’s central office that it is the first time after 1962 that a government that completed two full tenures has got a third successive term in office. He said "new history" has been created after six decades.

PM Modi also said that despite the opposition parties coming together, their combined number was less than the tally of BJP.  

 "The people of the country have expressed their trust in the NDA for the third consecutive time. This is an unprecedented moment in the history of India. I thank my family for their love and blessings. I assure the countrymen that to fulfil their aspirations, we will move forward with new energy, new enthusiasm, and new resolves," PM Modi earlier said on X.

"I express my heartfelt gratitude and congratulations to all the workers for the dedication and tireless hard work they have done," he added.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge targeted PM Modi after the results and said it is "political and moral defeat" for him as the Bharatiya Janata Party could not get majority on its own.

"This election results are 'janta ka result'. This is the victory of people and the democracy. We were saying that the fight is Modi vs the people. In the 18th Lok Sabha election, we humbly accept the result. People have not given a full majority to any party. BJP asked to vote for one person, the mandate has gone against Modi. It is his political and moral loss. The person who sought votes on his name, it's a huge loss for him," he said at a press conference.

Party leader Rahul Gandhi, who also addressed the press conference, said that a meeting of INDIA bloc leaders will be held on Wednesday to decide the next course of action.

The two Congress leaders did not directly answer if they would take role of opposition and said a decision would be taken after consulting other members of the INDIA bloc.     

The counting of votes of the Lok Sabha election was taken up on Tuesday after a marathon seven-phased election and states presented contrasting pictures with BJP suffering losses in crucial Hindi heartland states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.  

Some big names from the BJP including Union Minister Smriti Irani, Maneka Gandhi,  K Annamalai, Sanjeev Balyan, Arjun Munda and Ajay Mishra Teni lost the polls.

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Below is the party-wise tally of the result of the Lok Sabha as announced by the Election Commission of India on its webside: