LIVE
Wed, 05 June 2024
Russian businesswoman attacked in UP, 10 booked
Timeline Refresh
23:58 Russian businesswoman attacked in UP, 10 booked
A case has been registered against 10 employees of a carpet manufacturing company in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi district for allegedly assaulting a businesswoman from Russia, police officials said on Wednesday.
Superintendent of police Meenakshi Katyayan said Anna Steor (30), a resident of Moscow, had sold an industrial device to Ahsan Ansari, the owner of a carpet manufacturing firm in Bhadohi.
When Ansari did not like the device, she asked him to hand it over to her agent, the police officer said.
The woman, in her complaint to the police, claimed that Ansari kept the device with him and so she had to come to India, the SP said, adding when the businesswoman reached the company on Tuesday, 10 employees of the carpet manufacturing firm allegedly attacked her.
During the assault, a finger on her hand got fractured, the police officer said.
Along with the complaint, the woman also submitted a video of the alleged incident and based on these a case has been registered against 10 unnamed employees of the carpet manufacturing firm, the SP said. -- PTI
File image
23:55 Heatwave prevails in Rajasthan, Dholpur hottest at 45.4 degrees C
The maximum temperature in most parts of Rajasthan was recorded above 40 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's normal, and Dholpur was hottest at 45.4 degrees Celsius, the local weather office said on Wednesday.
According to the Met Centre Jaipur, heatwave was recorded at some places in the Bharatpur division.
The maximum temperature was recorded in Dholpur followed by 44.7 degrees Celsius in Pilani, 44.4 degrees Celsius in Sri Ganganagar, 44.3 degrees Celsius in Kota, 44.2 degrees Celsius in Banasthali, 44 degrees Celsius in Alwar, 43.8 degrees Celsius in Churu and 43.4 degrees Celsius in Chittorgarh, it said.
Meanwhile, Jaisalmer recorded the lowest maximum temperature of 40.3 degrees Celsius.
The department has predicted rainfall in some parts of Jaipur, Bharatpur, Kota and Ajmer divisions in the coming days. -- PTI
23:17 Porsche accident: Pune cops meet families of deceased IT professionals in MP
A police team led by an official from Pune on Wednesday visited the family of two software engineers tragically killed in a Porsche car accident in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur and Umaria.
The team, headed by additional commissioner of police Manoj Patil, assured the families of Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both 24-year-old IT professionals, who lost their lives on May 19, of free and fair investigation.
The fatal incident occurred when a speeding Porsche, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy, collided with their motorcycle in Pune city.
The deceased Ashwini hailed from Jabalpur and Anish from Birsinghpur Pali in Umaria district. ACP Patil, speaking to reporters in Umaria, expressed solidarity with the families and affirmed the diligent investigation underway.
"We are investigating in the right direction. The case is watertight, and the entire crime branch is on the case," stated Patil.
In Jabalpur, Patil met the parents of the deceased Ashwini Koshta at their residence. -- PTI
Stalin meets N Chandrababu Naidu at New Delhi airport/ANI Photo
22:58 TN CM Stalin meets TDP chief Naidu in Delhi
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday expressed confidence that TDP supremo and key NDA leader N Chandrababu Naidu will play a 'crucial' role in the Union government, advocating for southern states' rights.
Stalin met Naidu at the New Delhi airport.
"Met Thiru @ncbn garu, a longtime friend of Thalaivar Kalaignar (Karunanidhi), at Delhi Airport. I conveyed my best wishes to him and expressed hope that we will collaborate to strengthen the ties between the brotherly states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh."
"I am confident that he will play a crucial role in the Union Government, advocating for the southern states and protecting our rights," Stalin said in a post on 'X.'
While Naidu was in the national capital to attend a meeting of the leaders of BJP-led NDA, Stalin participated in a meeting of INDIA bloc constituents. -- PTI
Superstar Rajinikanth
22:39 LS polls: Rajini greets Modi, Stalin, Naidu
Superstar Rajinikanth on Wednesday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and N Chandrababu Naidu for the success of their respective parties--BJP, DMK and TDP in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls.
"My Hearty Congratulations to my dear friends.. Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M K Stalin @mkstalin ...and Shri Chandrababu Naidu Garu @ncbn," he wrote on 'X.'
"I extend my hearty congratulations to NDA #nda and most respected dear Narendra Modiji @narendramodi," he added.
While BJP emerged as the single largest party with 240 MPs, Naidu led his TDP to a stunning comeback in Andhra Pradesh where the party, a constituent of the NDA along with BJP and Janasena Party, won the assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
The DMK-led alliance had swept the polls in Tamil Nadu, winning all 39 seats, besides the lone Puducherry segment. -- PTI
File image
22:25 Two more Indian wetlands added to Ramsar list
India celebrated World Environment Day with the addition of the Nagi Bird Sanctuary and the Nakti Bird Sanctuary in Bihar to the global list of important wetlands.
These newly designated Ramsar sites are man-made reservoirs located in the Jhajha forest range of Jamui district in Bihar.
Their catchments feature dry deciduous forests surrounded by hills.
"On World Environment Day 2024, happy to share that India has taken one more step towards preventing desertification and increasing drought resilience by adding two more wetlands -- Nagi Bird Sanctuary and Nakti Bird Sanctuary -- in Bihar to the list of Ramsar Sites. This takes the number of Ramsar Sites in the country to 82 covering a total area of 13,32,746.24 ha. The move reflects the continued commitment of PM Narendra Modi ji towards environment protection," Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav posted on 'X'.
He said the two bird sanctuaries, covering a total area of 544.37 hectares, are reservoirs that store water during the rainy season and sustain water requirements during dry seasons for agriculture and household consumption of the locals. -- PTI
22:16 President hosts dinner for Modi, ministers
President Droupadi Murmu hosted a dinner on Wednesday for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the outgoing council of ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The event was also attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
"President Droupadi Murmu hosted a dinner for the outgoing Union council of ministers, led by Prime Minister @narendramodi, at Rashtrapati Bhavan," the President's office said in a post on 'X'.
Earlier in the day, Modi tendered his resignation to the President, who accepted it and asked him to continue till the new government assumes office.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a majority in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. While the NDA is comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha, the BJP, which won 240 seats, has fallen short of the magic number for the first time since 2014.
Meanwhile, Modi has been unanimously elected as the NDA leader during a meeting of the alliance, thus paving the way for him to take the oath for a third straight term as the head of the coalition government.
NDA MPs will meet on June 7 to formally elect Modi as their leader and the alliance leaders will then meet the President to submit their letters of support, former Bihar chief minister and founder of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) Jitan Ram Manjhi said after attending the meeting.
In a related development, the President dissolved the current Lok Sabha on the advice of the Prime Minister Modi-led Cabinet.
The term of the 17th Lok Sabha was to end on June 16 and before that, a new government has to be established.
Representational image
21:58 9 Karnataka trekkers die in Uttarakhand
Nine trekkers from Karnataka lost their lives in Uttarakhand due to extreme weather conditions, officials said on Wednesday.
A 22-member trekking team was sent by Himalayan View Trekking Agency, Maneri, on May 29 on a 35-km long trek from Uttarkashi.
The team constituted 18 trekkers from Karnataka and one from Maharashtra, besides three local guides, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Meharban Singh Bisht said.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday instructed the officials concerned to take necessary action for safe rescue of trekkers and to bring the bodies of the deceased to the state immediately.
Earlier in the day, the Principal Secretary in the revenue department, Rashmi Mahesh, said that four trekkers from Karnataka died while rescue operations were on to save the others trapped at Sahasratal in Uttarakhand.
The district magistrate of Garhwal was monitoring the rescue operation.
However, later, the death toll rose to nine. -- PTI
Newly elected BJP MP Rupkumari Chaudhary/Courtesy Facebook
21:52 LS polls: Three women win from Chhattisgarh
In recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, three women from Chhattisgarh emerged victorious, echoing the gender representation observed in the previous polls.
The ruling BJP won 10 out of 11 parliamentary seats, while the Congress clinched only one seat, marking a slight decline from its 2019 performance when it had won two constituencies.
Among the 11 newly-elected MPs, three are women, with two from the BJP and one from the Congress.
A total of 29 women candidates, including three from each of the BJP and Congress, had contested the elections.
Rupkumari Chaudhary, a former MLA, emerged victorious in Mahasamund, securing 7,03,659 votes against Congress's Tamradhwaj Sahu who polled 5,58,203 votes.
In Janjgir-Champa (SC) seat, BJP's Kamlesh Jangde, a fresher, defeated Congress's Shivkumar Dahariya, an influential Scheduled Caste community leader and former state minister, garnering 6,78,199 votes.
Congress candidate Jyotsana Mahant, wife of opposition leader Charan Das Mahant, retained her seat in Korba by defeating BJP's Saroj Pandey, a former MP, by a margin of 43,283 votes.
Jyotsana bagged 5,70,182 votes while Pandey polled 5,26,899 votes. -- PTI
Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams/@Commercial_Crew/X
21:22 Sunita Williams flies to space for third time
Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams flew to space for the third time on Wednesday along with a colleague, scripting history as the first members aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station.
Boeing's Crew Flight Test mission carrying Williams, and Butch Wilmore lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida after multiple delays.
Williams, 58, is the pilot for the flight test while Wilmore, 61, is the commander of the mission.
Williams also made history as the first woman to embark on such a mission.
And it won't be her first entry in the history books.
In 2012, during a prior trip to the International Space Station, Williams became the first person to finish a triathlon in space, during which she simulated swimming using a weight-lifting machine and ran on a treadmill while strapped in by a harness so she wouldn't float away.
That came after she ran the Boston Marathon from the space station in 2007. -- PTI
20:51 Third term of BJP-led NDA govt will not last long: J-K Congress chief
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Vikar Rasool Wani on Wednesday said the third term of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government will be short-lived as "dictators do not take everyone along'.
He reiterated his party's demand for immediate restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and holding of assembly elections to restore democracy in the Union Territory.
"If NDA government comes to power for the third term, write down that it will be short-lived as dictators do not take everyone along. The BJP's slogan of sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas is untrue and it stands exposed for using central and state agencies like the ED, CBI and police against opposition leaders to put them in jail. (Delhi Chief Minister Arvind) Kejriwal and (former Jharkhand chief minister) Hemant Soren are glaring examples," Wani told reporters in Jammu.
He claimed that India has not seen such a "dictator" in its history and Congress, which ruled the country for most of the time, always respected opposition and the regional parties unlike the BJP which is using its strength and money power to bring down governments and break regional parties as was evident in Maharashtra. -- PTI
20:33 Sunstroke-related death toll mounts to 36 in Odisha
The number of sunstroke-related deaths rose to 36 in Odisha this summer, with two more confirmed cases, an official statement said on Wednesday.
A total of 151 cases of sunstroke-related deaths were reported till Wednesday, of which 36 have been confirmed due to heat-related illness, while 31 cases were not due to sunstroke.
The remaining 84 cases are pending inquiry, the statement issued by the state's special relief commissioner said.
Two suspected sunstroke deaths were reported during the last 24 hours, it added.
The government has asked districts to ensure post-mortem examination of every suspected sunstroke death for sanction of ex-gratia.
Also, a joint inquiry by the local revenue officer and a local medical officer needs to be conducted to ascertain the exact cause of each death, officials said. -- PTI
20:07 Modi 3.0: What did China say
China on Wednesday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Natinoal Democratic Alliance in the general elections and said both countries should 'look to the future' to advance bilateral relations, frozen since the Galwan incident four years ago, on a 'healthy and stable track'.
"We noted the results of India's general election and extend congratulations on the victory of the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the National Democratic Alliance," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing in Beijing.
"A healthy and stable China-India relationship is in the interest of both the countries, and conducive to the peace and development in this region and beyond," Mao said while responding to a question by the official media seeking China's comment on Modi's win.
"China stands ready to work with India to act in the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples, bear in mind the overall interest of our ties, look to the future and advance bilateral relations on a healthy and stable track," she said.
Asked whether China will advance any new initiatives to revive the bilateral ties deadlocked since May 2020 over the Eastern Ladakh military standoff, Mao said China's consistent and clear stand is that a healthy and stable China-India relationship is in the interest of both countries.
"We also hope that the two countries will act in the fundamental interests of the two peoples, work in the same direction and work for a healthy and stable China-India relationship," she said. -- PTI
"We noted the results of India's general election and extend congratulations on the victory of the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the National Democratic Alliance," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing in Beijing.
"A healthy and stable China-India relationship is in the interest of both the countries, and conducive to the peace and development in this region and beyond," Mao said while responding to a question by the official media seeking China's comment on Modi's win.
"China stands ready to work with India to act in the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples, bear in mind the overall interest of our ties, look to the future and advance bilateral relations on a healthy and stable track," she said.
Asked whether China will advance any new initiatives to revive the bilateral ties deadlocked since May 2020 over the Eastern Ladakh military standoff, Mao said China's consistent and clear stand is that a healthy and stable China-India relationship is in the interest of both countries.
"We also hope that the two countries will act in the fundamental interests of the two peoples, work in the same direction and work for a healthy and stable China-India relationship," she said. -- PTI
19:51 INDIA welcomes...: Did Kharge invite Nitish, Naidu?
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) would welcome all parties that share a fundamental commitment to the values enshrined in the Preamble of Constitution, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday at the first meeting of the opposition grouping after its impressive gains in Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing the opposition leaders who converged at his residence, Kharge said all INDIA partners fought well, unitedly and resolutely.
"The mandate is decisively against Mr Modi, against him and the substance and style of his politics. It is a huge political loss for him personally apart from being a clear moral defeat as well. However, he is determined to subvert the will of the people," he said.
"The INDIA alliance welcomes all parties which share its fundamental commitment to the values enshrined in the Preamble to our Constitution and to its many provisions for economic, social and political justice," the Congress chief said in his opening remarks.
Thanking the INDIA bloc partners, he said, "I welcome all INDIA alliance partners. We fought well, fought unitedly, fought resolutely." -- PTI
IMAGE: INDIA bloc leaders hold a meeting at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photograph: ANI Photo
19:04 NDA elects Modi as leader of the alliance
Leaders of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance unanimously elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the ruling bloc's leader on Wednesday, passing a resolution to underscore the government's commitment to serving the poor, women, youths, farmers and deprived sections of society.
They met at Modi's residence in New Delhi a day after the NDA won a majority of seats in the Lok Sabha election, paving the way for him to take the oath for a third consecutive term, a first for any ruling alliance since 1962.
TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, LJP(R) leader Chirag Paswan and NCP leader Praful Patel were among those who attended the meeting.
The resolution said the NDA government will continue working to lift people's living standards for the country's all-round development while conserving its heritage.
"We are all proud that the NDA fought the 2024 Lok Sabha polls unitedly under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and won. We all NDA leaders unanimously elect Narendra Modi as our leader," it added.
The resolution also said that people have seen the country being developed in every sector in the last 10 years due to the pro-people policies of the NDA government under Modi.
IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting, at his residence, 7, LKM, in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photograph: ANI Photo
19:02 Veteran journalist BRP Bhaskar passes away
Veteran journalist Babu Rajendra Prasad Bhaskar passed away in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday. He was 92.
After beginning his journalistic career in his father's newspaper Navabhratham, Bhaskar joined The Hindu newspaper in 1952. He went on to work with various publications like The Statesman, Patriot, Deccan Herald and Asianet TV.
He also penned two books on journalism as it was -- Newsroom, and The Changing Mediascape.
After retirement he shifted to Thiruvananthapuram in 1993, and to Chennai in 2017. He had then said that Kerala was not a conducive place for the elderly.
Bhaskar lost his wife in 2023, and his daughter before that, in 2019.
Seven months ago he shifted to a home for seniors in Thiruvananthapuram. He was admitted to a private hospital four days ago, where he passed away on Tuesday.
Bhaskar's son in law and grand daughter are currently in the US.
18:06 NDA leaders meet in Delhi over govt formation
Senior leaders of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance deliberated on the details of government formation at a meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, a day after the ruling coalition won a majority in the Lok Sabha election which paved the way for a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, JD-U leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan were among those who were present at the meeting chaired by Modi.
Senior BJP leaders were also in attendance.
The TDP, JD-U, Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the LJP (Ram Vilas) have won 16, 12, seven and five seats respectively and will play a crucial role in the government formation.
Sources said National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders are expected to formally repose their faith in Modi's leadership and that MPs of the coalition's constituents may meet in a couple of days to elect him as their leader.
"I have not come to demand anything. I have come here to support Modiji in forming the government. Modiji has got a majority. The NDA will form the government under Modiji's leadership," Shinde told reporters at the Delhi airport.
Though there was no official word on the date for the oath-taking ceremony, there is a view among some members of the alliance that it may take place over the weekend if the contours of the new government are quickly worked out.
Parties like the TDP and the JD-U are expected to demand some key portfolios as their support will be crucial for government formation and survival.
Modi is set for a record-equalling third term at the helm, though the new government is likely to be different in composition and character with a bigger share for the BJP's allies.
While the NDA is comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha, the BJP, which won 240 seats, has fallen short of the magic number for the first time since 2014 and is critically dependent on its allies.
Giorgia Meloni shared this image with Modi on X
17:54 What Italy's Giorgia Meloni told Modi after poll win
Several world leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, have congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the victory of the BJP-led NDA coalition in the general elections and expressed their desire to work closely with him.
"Congratulations to @narendramodi on the new electoral victory and my warmest wishes for good work. Certain that we will continue to work together to strengthen the friendship that unites Italy and India and consolidate cooperation on the various issues that bind us, for the well-being of our Nations and our peoples," Meloni said in a post on X.
"I extend my warmest congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on being reelected for a third consecutive term. May the friendship between India and Israel continue to surge towards new heights. Badhaai Ho!" Netanyahu tweeted on social media platform X.
Ukrainian President Zelensky welcomed the successful holding of the world's largest democratic elections in India. "Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi, the BJP, and BJP-led NDA on the third consecutive victory in India's parliamentary elections. I wish the people of India peace and prosperity, and I hope for continued cooperation between our countries. India and Ukraine share common values and a rich history. May our partnership continue to thrive, bringing progress and mutual understanding for our nations," he said.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te congratulated Modi and said: "We look forward to enhancing the fast-growing #Taiwan-#India partnership, expanding our collaboration on trade, technology & other sectors to contribute to peace & prosperity in the #IndoPacific."
China also congratulated Modi on the victory of the BJP-led NDA coalition in the general elections and said it stands ready to work with India bearing in mind the overall interests of bilateral ties.
"We noted the results of India's general election and extend congratulations on the victory of BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NDA," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. A sound and stable India relationship is conducive to the interests of both the countries and conducive to the peace and development in the region and beyond, she told a media briefing here answering questions on the outcome of India's elections. China stands ready to work with India to act in the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples bearing in mind the overall interests of our ties and look to the future and advance the bilateral ties on a steady track, Mao said.
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe extended his warmest felicitations to the BJP-led NDA on its victory demonstrating the confidence of the Indian people in the progress and prosperity under the leadership of Modi.
"As the closest neighbour Sri Lanka looks forward to further strengthening the partnership with India," the Sri Lankan president wrote on X. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena while offering congratulations to Modi said Sri Lanka was looking forward to a strengthened bilateral relationship in his third term in office. Sri Lanka is committed to working together with India to overcome challenges and explore new opportunities for enhancing cooperation for peace across the world."
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal congratulated his Indian counterpart on the electoral success of his party-led alliance. "Congratulations to PM @narendramodi on the electoral success of BJP and NDA in the Lok Sabha elections for the third consecutive term. We are happy to note the successful completion of the world's largest democratic exercise with the enthusiastic participation of the people of India," he said in a post on X. Main Opposition leader and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba also congratulated Modi.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley congratulated Prime Minister Modi, saying that under his leadership, India has become a global leader and ally to Barbados and the Caribbean region. "Let's continue to build together!" she said.
Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth congratulated Modi on his historic win. "Congratulations Prime Minister Modi Ji @narendramodi on your laudable victory for a historic third term. Under your helm, the largest democracy will continue to achieve remarkable progress. Long live the Mauritius-India special relationship," Jugnauth posted on X.
Maldives President Dr Mohamed Muizzu also congratulated Modi and voiced his desire to work with the Indian prime minister to advance the bilateral ties. "Congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi and the BJP and BJP-led NDA, on the success in the 2024 Indian General Election, for the third consecutive term.
"I look forward to working together to advance our shared interests in pursuit of shared prosperity and stability for our two countries," Muizzu, whose statements and actions have hit bilateral ties since the pro-China leader assumed office in November last year.
Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay also congratulated Modi and NDA for the historic third consecutive win and said he looked forward to working closely with him. "Congratulations to my friend PM @narendramodi ji and NDA for the historic 3rd consecutive win in the world's biggest elections. As he continues to lead Bharat to great heights, I look forward to working closely with him to further strengthen the relations between our 2 countries," he wrote on X.
Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness, former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa and Vice President of Maldives Hussain Mohamed Latheef were among the leaders who congratulated Modi on his election victory. PTI
17:51 'You've conquered our hearts'
Supriya Shinate, who heads the Congress party's digital media and social media platforms, shares this picture of Amethi winner LK Sharma with Rahul Gandhi, writing, "Dil jeet liya."
The newly-elected Amethi MP on Wednesday said the constituency for him was like an "amanat" of the Gandhi family and he would ensure there is no "amanat mein khayanat (breach of trust)".
Narendra Modi gives his resignation to President Murmu
17:40 President orders dissolving 17th Lok Sabha
President Droupadi Murmu orders dissolving of 17th Lok Sabha: Rashtrapati Bhavan says. The Cabinet, in its today's meeting, has advised the President to dissolve the 17th Lok Sabha with immediate effect. The President has accepted the advice of the Cabinet and signed the order dissolving the 17th Lok Sabha.
The Maha CM campaigns for Thane candidate Naresh Mhaske. File pic
17:35 Electoral defeat is collective responsibility: Shinde on Fadnavis
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde's statement on Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis' proposal to relieve him from the state government says, "Electoral defeat is a collective responsibility. All three parties had worked together in the elections. If you look at the vote share, Mahayuti got more than two lakh votes in Mumbai. The reasons for the defeat will be honestly reviewed. In the last two years, the government has taken many good decisions in the state. I will be speaking to Devendra ji soon. We have worked together in the past and we will keep on working in the future. We have collectively failed to counter the false claims of the opposition."
BJP leader Ashok Chavan says, "It was his personal statement. There was no discussion in the core room regarding this (of Fadnavis' resignation) and the core room does not endorse such a view. The central leadership will take a decision on it."
17:23 Kangana only fourth woman from Himachal to be elected to Lok Sabha
Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has become only the fourth woman ever to be elected to Lok Sabha from Himachal Pradesh, and the first woman who is not from an erstwhile royal family.
BJP's Kangana defeated her Congress rival Vikramaditya Singh, scion of Rampur state and the incumbent state public works minister, by a margin of 74,755 votes from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency.
Earlier, Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur, the first health minister of the country and hailing from the erstwhile royal family of Kapurthala, was elected to Lok Sabha from the Mandi constituency in 1952.
Chandresh Kumari from the erstwhile royal family of Jodhpur, who was married in Himachal, won from Kangra seat in 1984.
State Congress chief Pratibha Singh, who belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Rampur, won from the Mandi seat in 2004, 2013 and 2021. Kangana is only the third woman to be elected from the Mandi seat.
17:17 Report confirms Porsche mother's blood samples used as replacement
A forensic laboratory report has confirmed that blood samples of the mother were used to replace those of the 17-year-old driver involved in the Porsche crash which claimed two lives in Pune, police told a court on Wednesday.
The sessions court extended the police custody of the teen's parents till June 10 on the police's request. Two doctors and an employee of the Sassoon General Hospital here were arrested last month for allegedly replacing the minor's blood samples following the accident on May 19 to show that he was not drunk at the time.
It is alleged that one of the doctors was in touch with the teen's father. The teen's mother was arrested on the conspiracy charges on June 1.
Police on Wednesday produced the parents of the minor, the two doctors and the hospital employee before the court after their police custody got over. The court extended the custody of the doctors and the hospital employee till June 7.
Police have also moved an application before the Juvenile Justice Board seeking extension for 14 days of the remand of the 17-year-old who is lodged at an observation home. His remand ends on Wednesday. PTI
16:44 Newly-elected Cong MPs meet Gehlot
Former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot shares this picture writing, "Today, the newly elected MP from Tonk Sawai Madhopur Mr. Harish Meena and the newly elected MP from Bharatpur Mrs. Sanjana Jatav met me at the residence. Hearty congratulations to both the MPs on their victory and best wishes for the future."
16:39 No revenge politics, says Amethi winner KL Sharma
Congress' newly-elected Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma on Wednesday said the constituency for him was like an "amanat" of the Gandhi family and he would ensure there is no "amanat mein khayanat (breach of trust)".
Sharma, who emerged as a giant slayer by defeating sitting BJP MP and Union minister Smriti Irani by a margin of over 1.67 lakh votes, does not see his victory in terms of a "revenge" of the defeat inflicted on Gandhi by Irani in 2019 in the constituency.
"There is no revenge in politics. It is like sportsmanship, one has to win and the other loses. We don't see things in terms of revenge and all," Sharma told PTI in an interview.
He said Gandhi has to decide which constituency he will represent in Lok Sabha though he would want the former Congress chief to keep the Rae Bareli seat.
Talking about his win from Amethi, Sharma said it is a victory of the people of Amethi and the Gandhi family. Sharma said the Amethi constituency is the 'amanat' of the Gandhi family and he would ensure that there is no "amanat mein khayanat (breach of trust)". This time, Rahul Gandhi contested the Lok Sabha election from the Rae Bareli seat, while Sharma, a close aide of the Gandhi family, was fielded from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat to take on Irani. Sharma had been an MP representative for both Rae Bareli and Amethi, looking after the two Gandhi family bastions. Gandhi won the Wayanad seat by a margin of more than 3.6 lakh votes and Rae Bareli by a margin of over 3.9 lakh votes.
Sharma said he handed over Gandhi's certificate of election from Rae Bareli to him this morning.
"He then gave me the guidance that I have to perform well in Parliament. So I told him that I will learn from him as he is a senior MP, I am only a first-timer," Sharma told PTI.
Asked if he gave any advice to Rahul Gandhi being his pointsman earlier on the Rae Bareli constituency on which seat he should represent, Sharma said, "I did not give him any advice, it is not my stature to give him advice. It is up to Rahul Gandhi (to decide)," he said. "Personally, I want him to keep Rae Bareli," he added.
On the BJP's jibes against him during the polls calling him Gandhi family's "peon" and "clerk", Sharma said Rahul Gandhi had given an answer to that in the press conference on Tuesday and he would not like to comment on the matter now. "Rahul ji has answered all this, he is my leader and has replied on it. I don't want to comment on it," Sharma said.
Asked about the BJP's jibes at Sharma, Gandhi had said, "BJP does not talk respectfully. Kishori Lal Sharma had been working in Amethi for last 40 years. Probably the BJP people did not understand that Kishori Lal Sarma was closely connected with Amethi and therefore his victory was certain."
On his role in the party going forward, Sharma said the high command will decide his role and whatever the party decides, he will abide by that.
"I never thought about any role in the last 40 years so what would I think now. Whatever the party decides, whichever role the party will give me, is acceptable to me," he said.
Talking about the margin of his victory in the hard-fought election, Sharma said he was not thinking in terms of victory and defeat but had the belief that his workers were ready.
"It was about the margin, we were thinking of a margin between 1.25 lakh and 1.5 lakh. I have worked for 40 years so I can read the mood of the workers. When we used to do public meetings, people used to listen to it and I got the belief that we will do it (emerge victorious) and it was done," he said.
16:34 Ahem, what's this?
Congress Kerala@INCKerala shares this image of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in conversation with TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu. The witty post says, "Don't panic Modiji, it's an old pic."
This comes amid buzz that the India alliance will be speaking to the TDP and JDU to cobble up numbers. The TDP is with the NDA.
16:22 Sharad Pawar achieves 80% strike rate with 8 seats
Veteran politician Sharad Pawar has managed to retain the support of NCP workers at the grassroots, with the NCP (SP) led by him winning 8 out of the 10 Lok Sabha seats it contested in Maharashtra, achieving an impressive strike rate of 80 per cent.
In contrast, the Nationalist Congress Party led by his estranged nephew and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar won just one of the four seats it contested, recording a strike rate of 25 per cent.
Interestingly, the Congress, which won only one Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra in the 2019 polls, made an impressive comeback, winning 13 out of the 17 seats it contested, with a strike rate of 75 per cent. Notably, most of the constituencies won by NCP (SP) are from western Maharashtra, the traditional stronghold of Pawar.
The Ajit Pawar-led NCP emerged victorious only in the Raigad Lok Sabha constituency, with the party's state unit president Sunil Tatkare defeating his Shiv Sena (UBT) rival Anant Geete.
The eight seats won by the NCP (SP) include Baramati, which witnessed a riveting family battle between Sharad Pawar's daughter and sitting MP Supriya Sule and Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar. The BJP, which contested 28 seats, won only 9, recording a strike rate of 31 per cent. BJP's ally Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, contested 15 seats and won 7, with a strike rate of 45 per cent.
On the other hand, the rival Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray recorded a strike rate of 41 per cent, winning only 9 of the 21 seats it contested. Notably, the Sangli constituency was won by Independent candidate Vishal Patil, who is a Congressman.
Of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi of Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Congress collectively won 30 seats, while the Mahayuti of BJP, Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP was restricted to 17. -- PTI
15:47 Fadnavis offers to resign after poor show in Maha
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said he would request BJP top leadership to relieve him from the government duties so that he could focus on state assembly polls, a statement coming a day after the BJP suffered a drubbing in Lok Sabha polls in the state.
He also conceded that issues of coordination exist with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of NCP.
"I take full responsibility for the BJP's defeat in Maharashtra. I fell short in some places, and the setback in Maharashtra is my fault.
"To focus on the next assembly elections and fix the shortcomings, I request the top brass of my party to relieve me of my government duties. I will meet my seniors and communicate my expectations to them," Fadnavis said while addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in Mumbai.
Fadnavis said he would hold discussions with his seniors and will work as per their guidance. "There were some issues of coordination with chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, which we will meet and discuss soon," he said. -- PTI
Kamal Nath's son and Chhindwara candidate lost
15:45 Congress vote share dips in MP, BJP and NOTA rises
The vote share of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh went down by more than two per cent while that of the BJP increased marginally by over one per cent as compared to the figures in the previous parliamentary elections, a top official said on Wednesday.
In the results of the Lok Sabha polls declared on Tuesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clinched all 29 seats, including the Congress bastion Chhindwara, in Madhya Pradesh. A total of 5,33,705 voters pressed the NOTA (none of the above) option, with the highest number of 2,18,674 such votes being registered in Indore seat alone, Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anupam Rajan said in a press conference.
A total of 369 candidates were in the fray from the 29 seats, including 343 men, 25 women and one transgender (in Damoh). Rajan said the Indian National Congress (INC) had got 34.50 per cent vote share in the 2019 elections. But this time, its vote share stood at 32.44 per cent, down by 2.06 per cent. The BJP bagged 59.28 per cent votes this time as compared to 58 per cent it had received in 2019, he said.
The vote share of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also went up to 3.28 per cent from 2.38 per cent it registered in the last general elections, he added. According to Rajan, the vote share of NOTA also went up from 0.92 per cent to 1.40 per cent. "Of the 5,33,705 NOTA votes received across 29 constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, 2,18,674 votes were polled in Indore Lok Sabha seat alone," he said. -- PTI
File pic
15:40 Kejriwal's judicial custody extended till June 19
Rouse Avenue Court extends the judicial custody of Delhi CM and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal till June 19. He was produced virtually before the court today.
15:38 Manjhi arrives for NDA meet
Former Bihar CM and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi arrives in Delhi for the NDA meeting.
Amritpal Singh
15:35 Can 2 jailed Lok Sabha poll winners take oath?
Two candidates currently lodged in prison on terror charges emerged winners in the just-concluded parliamentary election, giving rise to an unusual situation for the 18th Lok Sabha to be formed in the coming days.
While the law will keep them from attending the proceedings of the new House, they do have the constitutional right to take oath as Members of Parliament. The Election Commission declared the results of the Lok Sabha polls on Tuesday.
While radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh won Punjab's Khadoor Sahib seat, terror financing accused Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, emerged victorious on Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla seat. Engineer Rashid has been lodged in Tihar jail since August 9, 2019, on charges of terror financing.
Singh was arrested in April 2023 under the National Security Act and sent to the Dibrugarh prison in Assam. The question now arises if these jailed newly elected MPs will be allowed to take the oath, and if yes, how.
Explaining the legalities involved, Constitution expert and former Lok Sabha secretary general PDT Achari emphasised the importance of following the constitutional provisions in such cases. Being sworn in as a Member of Parliament is a constitutional right, he said.
But because they are currently in prison, Engineer Rashid and Singh must seek permission from authorities to be escorted to Parliament for the oath-taking ceremony. Once they have taken the oath, they will have to return to prison.
To further explain the legalities, Achari cited Article 101(4) of the Constitution which deals with the absence of members from both Houses of Parliament without prior sanction of the Chair. He said that after they have taken oath, they will write to the Speaker, informing him or her about their inability to attend the House.
The Speaker will then refer their requests to the House Committee on Absence of Members. The committee will recommend whether the member should be allowed to remain absent from House proceedings or not. The recommendation is then put to vote in the House by the Speaker. If Engineer Rashid or Singh are to be convicted and jailed for a minimum of two years, they would lose their seats in the Lok Sabha immediately as per the Supreme Court judgment of 2013, which holds that MPs and MLAs would be disqualified in such cases. This decision struck down section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act, which earlier allowed convicted MPs and MLAs three months to appeal against their convictions. PTI
15:32 Chandrababu reaches Delhi
TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu arrives at the residence of former TDP MP Jayadev Galla in Delhi. He is in Delhi to attend the NDA meeting.
15:29 People who don't have majority dreaming of forming govt: Shinde
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde who is in Delhi on government formation: "The majority that we need is completed. NDA govt will be formed under the leadership of PM Modi. I am here to support and greet him. Those people who don't have the majority, are talking about forming govt, this is just a dream. INDI alliance's only goal was to defeat PM Modi and people stopped them."
15:25 Modi meets Dhankar
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi called on Vice-President, Jagdeep Dhankhar at the Vice-President's Enclave today.
15:23 Is INDIA approaching TDP, JDU? Tejashwi says...
Amid suspense over whether the TDP and JD(U) will join the opposition alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday asked people to "wait and watch."
Yadav, who travelled to Delhi from Patna in the same flight as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did, fuelling speculations if there were attempts to get him to the opposition's camp, said their interaction in the flight was limited to exchanging courtesies.
Asked if the opposition is looking at getting the numbers to stake claim for government formation, Yadav said, "We have come for the meeting today. Have patience, wait and watch what happens."
Yadav also said that Bihar has emerged as "kingmaker" in this election, and hoped that the "kingmaker" will ensure that the new government gives a special status to Bihar, conducts caste census across the country, and to put 75 percent reservation given by Bihar in the ninth schedule of the Constitution, which will exempt it from judicial review.
"Bihar has emerged as the kingmaker. Whichever government comes, the kingmaker should ensure that Bihar gets a special status, the 75 per cent reservation we gave, that should be brought under Schedule 9, and caste census should be conducted across the country," he said.
He also hailed the Samajwadi Party candidate's victory in Faizabad. "We won Ayodhya. Prime Minister used hate speech against Muslims. Ram ji also taught him a lesson," he said.
"We are happy people of the country have voted to save Constitution and to give a lesson to the autocratic regime. The people of this country don't like politics of hatred. In last 10 years, Modi did not give any account of his work, so people taught a lesson," he said.
INDIA bloc leaders will meet at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence Wednesday evening to decide on the strategy to form the government.
Opposition leaders, including Sharad Pawar, M K Stalin, Champai Soren, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Abhishek Banerjee, Sitaram Yechury, and D Raja are likely to attend the meeting, along with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. PTI
Uddhav supporters celebrate the party's winnings at the polls
15:09 Lok Sabha results show BJP can be defeated: Uddhav
The Lok Sabha election results have shown that the Bharatiya Janata Party can be defeated, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said on Wednesday as he met his party candidates who won the polls.
Shiv Sena (UBT) winners Rajabhau Prakash Waje (from Nashik seat) and Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North East) met former Maharashtra chief minister Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai on Wednesday, a day after the announcement of the poll results.
"The elections have shown that the BJP can be defeated. The myth (that it cannot be defeated) has been broken," Thackeray said.
On Tuesday, Thackeray met his party's Mumbai South seat winner Arvind Sawant and Mumbai South Central seat winner Anil Desai. In polls to the 543-member Lok Sabha, the BJP won 240 seats, falling short of a majority on its own. The BJP is poised to form the government with the support of its allies. The Sena UBT won nine seats.
Caretaker PM Narendra Modi with President Murmu
14:40 Union cabinet recommends dissolution of 17th Lok Sabha
The Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday recommended the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha, sources said.
Following the meeting at his residence, a day after the general election results, Modi will now be making a formal recommendation to President Droupadi Murmu, they said. "The Union cabinet has recommended the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha," a top source told PTI. The election results were also discussed during the cabinet meeting and discussions on likely government formation following the BJP-led NDA winning a majority of seats.
The meeting was followed by a meeting of the council of ministers, sources said. This was the last meeting of Modi 2.0's cabinet and council of ministers. The term of the current 17th Lok Sabha ends on June 16. The BJP on its own got 240 seats and the NDA a clear majority in the 543-member house, while the principal opposition party Congress bagged 99 seats. PTI
14:38 Who Does June 4 Belong to?
June 4 will go down as the day democracy came back from the dead in India, the day the almighty Bhartiya Janta Party failed to get even a simple majority in what former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has called the 'hottest and most hateful' Lok Sabha elections, ever. Most of all, it will be remembered as the day the power of Narendra Modi was broken.
Read the column here.
Narendra Modi resigns as PM
14:33 Modi resigns as PM till new govt is formed
Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets President Droupadi Murmu, tenders his resignation along with Council of Ministers. President Murmu accepts PM Modi's resignation, requests him to continue till new government assumes office.
14:17 Who will be attending the INDIA bloc meeting this evening
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut will attend the opposition INDIA alliance meeting to be held in New Delhi on Wednesday evening to deliberate on the Lok Sabha poll results, party sources said. Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said he will also travel to Delhi to attend the INDIA alliance leaders' meeting, but now only Raut will be attending it.
Raut said leaders of the Congress and other parties were holding talks with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Telegu Desam Party (TDP) head N Chandrababu Naidu to explore the possibility of their entry into the bloc.
The Kumar-led JD(U) and the TDP are constituents of the BJP-headed NDA, which is poised to form the next government in the 543-member House.
INDIA bloc leaders will meet at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence Wednesday evening to decide on the strategy to form the government and whether to reach out to former allies Nitish Kumar and Naidu. Opposition leaders, including Sharad Pawar, M K Stalin, Champai Soren, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, and D Raja are likely to attend the meeting, along with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. The TMC will be represented by Abhishek Banerjee, who would be coming from Kolkata.
While the BJP on its own fell short of a majority, it may, as things stand, form the government on the back of its allies. With support from Naidu's TDP and Nitish Kumar's JD(U), which won 16 and 12 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, respectively, and other alliance partners, the NDA crossed the halfway mark.
14:07 Amethi MP KL Sharma meets the Gandhis
Congress party's newly-elected MP from Amethi, Kishori Lal Sharma shows his winning certificate as he meets Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and MP Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi. Rahul Gandhi (winner Wayanad and Rae Bareli) and KL Sharma show their winner's certificates.
Priyanka tweeted this image from @Malicartoonist
14:01 Proud to be your sister, Rahul: Priyanka
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shares this image alongside and writes on X: "You kept standing, no matter what they said and did to you. You never backed down whatever the odds, never stopped believing however much they doubted your conviction, you never stopped fighting for the truth despite the overwhelming propaganda of lies they spread, and you never allowed anger and hatred to overcome you, even when they gifted it to you every day. You fought with love, truth and kindness in your heart. Those who could not see you, see you now, but some of us have always seen and known you to be the bravest of all. @RahulGandhi, I am proud to be your sister (heart emoji)."
Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav on board a flight
13:56 No talks in INDIA bloc on TDP, JDU alliance: Pawar
NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said there has been no discussion within the INDIA bloc yet on reaching out to the TDP or JD(U) to shore up the numbers of the alliance for government formation.
His remarks came ahead of the meeting of INDIA bloc leaders at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence this evening to deliberate on the Lok Sabha poll results and whether to bring on board the Janata Dal (United) (JD-U) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to cobble up a government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the BJP-led NDA getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
While speaking on the Lok Sabha poll outcome, the 83-year-old Pawar told reporters here that besides the resentment against the functioning of the Modi government, the voters were also unhappy about handling of issues such as rising prices, farmers' distress and growing unemployment. Asked about reaching out to the TDP or JD(U) to shore up numbers for the INDIA bloc, Pawar said there was no such discussion within the bloc as yet. "We have not spoken about this yet," he said.
He said the alliance leaders were meeting on Wednesday and will take collective decisions. "I have no personal opinion. Whatever we decide, will be a collective decision," Pawar said.
The former Union minister is expected to play a crucial role in deciding the future course or action of the opposition alliance. His party NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) contested 10 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra and won eight. PTI
13:52 One flight, two meetings
The viral photo of Bihar CM and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar (window seat) and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav travelling to Delhi on the same flight. Both of them were travelling to Delhi for NDA meeting and INDIA bloc meeting respectively.
13:14 Modi, NDA govt to be sworn-in on June 8
The formation of the NDA government and the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to take place on June 8. Modi on Tuesday pledged to work with all states, regardless of the party in power, to build a developed India.
Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi at the Congress presser yesterday
13:04 INDIA bloc leaders to meet at Kharge's home at 6pm
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday that a meeting of the Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance bloc meeting will be held this evening in the national capital.
"The INDIA Janbandhan leaders will be meeting today at 6 PM at 10, Rajaji Marg to discuss the election results and strategy thereafter," Kharge posted on X.
Counting of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was held on Tuesday.According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP won 240 seats, much lower than its 2019 tally of 303. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong improvement, winning 99 seats. While the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 292 seats, the INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, but the BJP will need the support of other parties in his coalition, primarily -- JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu.The INDIA bloc is trying to woo some of BJP allies to pull the game in its favour. -- ANI
13:01 Akhilesh hails 'intelligent voters' of UP
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said the success of the INDIA bloc in Uttar Pradesh is the victory of the backward classes, Dalits and minorities, and attributed it to the PDA strategy and efforts put in by the alliance.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, who fought the elections on the plank of PDA (Pichada, Dalit and Alpasankhyak) unity, said voters have proved that no force and deceit is more powerful than people's power.
"Dear intelligent voters of Uttar Pradesh, the victory of India bloc in the state is also the victory of the Dalit-Bahujan trust which, along with backward, minority, tribal, 'half population' (women) and all neglected, exploited, oppressed, backwards among the upper castes, has fought shoulder to shoulder to save the Constitution that gives the right to equality, respect, self-respect, dignified life and reservation," he said on X. The INDIA bloc has won 43 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, with the SP securing 37 seats and Congress six.
12:46 Fall of Pappu, rise of a seasoned politician: Rahul Gandhi earns spurs
Having picked up different views from the people during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Rahul and his team were instrumental in crafting the Congress manifesto, which focused on social justice as an alternative to the BJP's Hindutva agenda.
Read the column here.
Smriti Irani hugs an emotional BJP worker as she trailed and then lost Amethi
12:41 Spent a decade going from one village to another: Smriti on loss
Smriti Irani on losing Amethi to Congress's KL Sharma: "Such is life... A decade of my life going from one village to another, building lives, nurturing hope & aspirations, working on infrastructure ' roads, naali, khadanja, bypass, medical college and more. To those who stood by me through loss and victory, I am forever grateful. To those celebrating today, congratulations. And to those asking, "How's the josh?" I say- it's still high, Sir."
12:36 Won't object to Rahul as PM: Sena UBT
Sanjay Raut, the Shiv Sena leader from Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction, in a press conference, praised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and conveyed the party's thoughts on the prospects of Rahul Gandhi's Prime Ministership.
Meanwhile, he also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for not reaching the majority in the Lok Sabha Elections of 2024.In a press conference, on the questions of Rahul Gandhi's prospects of becoming Prime Minister, the Shiv Sena UBT leader said, "If Rahul Gandhi is ready to accept the leadership, why would we object? He has proven himself as a national leader for multiple times. He is one of the popular leaders. We all want him and love him. There is no objection and difference in the alliance." -- ANI
12:23 The headline of the Telegraph newspaper
Narendra Modi won the Varanasi seat for the third consecutive term by defeating Congress candidate Ajay Rai. The victory margin of Modi this time is 1,52,513, which is less than his victory margins of 2019 and 2014.
12:05 The end of an era
Outgoing Odisha CM and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik met Governor Raghubar Das at Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar today. BJD lost the Odisha Assembly elections, winning just 51 of the total 147 seats in the state.
12:03 Nitish, Tejashwi leave for Delhi on same flight
With NDA and INDIA bloc scheduling separate meetings of alliance partners in Delhi on Wednesday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his arch rival RJD's Tejashwi Yadav left for the national capital on the same flight from Patna airport, sources said.
Kumar, whose NDA-allied JD (U) has won 12 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, has emerged as a key player in government formation as the BJP has failed to secure a majority in the Lok Sabha on its own, while the INDIA bloc is also sending feelers to him. Tejashwi Yadav's RJD, an INDIA bloc partner, has secured four Lok Sabha seats.
Kumar had during the weekend visited Delhi and met top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Other NDA partners in Bihar -- Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) have won five and one seats each respectively.
Yadav, before leaving for Delhi, told reporters, "RJD has increased its number of seats in Parliament and garnered over one crore votes. Our performance has been very good. We had contested the elections on real issues. The INDIA bloc got the blessings of Lord Ram. One thing is very clear... the Modi factor is now finished. BJP is now dependent on its allies for majority."
"We will obviously try," he said, while responding to a query on whether the INDIA bloc will try to form the government.
11:54 We are in NDA, reasserts TDP chief Naidu
TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday said his party was in NDA and that he will be attending the National Democratic Alliance meeting to be held in New Delhi later in the day.
NDA constituent Janasena party's chief Pawan Kalyan will also be attending the NDA meeting at the national capital, a day after the alliance emerged victorious in Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Andhra Pradesh. "We are in NDA. I am going for an NDA meeting. In the course of time, if there is anything we will report to you," Naidu said in a press conference when asked about his Delhi visit.
Janasena sources told PTI that Kalyan also left for the national capital to attend the NDA meeting. Senior leaders of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance are meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday to take stock of the Lok Sabha poll results and deliberate on the details of government formation.
The TDP and Janasena, which won 16 and two Lok Sabha seats respectively from Andhra Pradesh, will play a crucial role in government formation at the Centre. The BJP won two seats in the state.
Narendra Modi's BJP stopped the 20-year run of the BJD
11:44 Naveen Patnaik arrives at Raj Bhavan to resign
Odisha CM and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik arrives at the Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar. BJD lost the Odisha Assembly elections, winning just 51 of the total 147 seats in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people of Odisha after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered a historic win in the state stopping the over two-decade juggernaut of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. PM Modi said the BJP will leave no stone unturned in fulfilling the dreams of the people and taking Odisha to new heights of progress.
"Thank you Odisha! It's a resounding victory for good governance and celebrating Odisha's unique culture. BJP will leave no stone unturned in fulfilling the dreams of people and taking Odisha to new heights of progress. I am very proud of all our hardworking Party Karyakartas for their efforts," PM Modi said in a post on X.
11:39 The state in which Congress went from 0 to 8 seats
The Bharatiya Janata Party has won 14 seats in Rajasthan in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections while the Congress has secured a win on eight seats in the state.
The BJP, which secured the majority in Rajasthan, getting 24 seats in the 2019 elections, has come down to 14. Congress posed a great comeback from getting zero in 2019 to getting 8 seats in the 2024 elections.
Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLTP) won the Nagaur seat while CPI(M) managed to secure a win on the Sikar seat. Bharat Adivasi Party won the Banswara seat.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal won the Bikaner seat by a margin of 55,711 votes. Union Minister Bhupender Yadav won from Alwar by a margin of 48,282 votes.
Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat bagged the Jodhpur seat by 1,15,677 votes. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla won from Kota by 41,974 votes. Congress candidate Murari Lal Meena won from Dausa by 2,37,340 votes, Brijendra Singh Ola--Jhunjhunu by 18,235, Harish Chandra Meena--Tonk Sawai Madhopur by 64,949 and Ummeda Ram Beniwal--Barmer by 1,18,176 votes. Voting for Rajasthan's 25 seats was concluded in the first and second phases on April 19 and 26 respectively.
11:27 Chirag Paswan meets Nitish ahead of NDA meeting in Delhi
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan on Wednesday morning met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar here ahead of the crucial NDA meeting scheduled in Delhi later in the day.
Chirag, whose party won all the five constituencies allotted to it as part of the NDA seat-sharing in the state, called on the CM along with his newly elected MPs. The party contested and won Hajipur, Vaishali, Samastipur, Khagaria and Jamui seats.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Kumar, Paswan said, "We congratulated him and sought his blessings. The way the CM has strengthened NDA in the state is highly commendable. The credit for the alliance's performance in Bihar goes both to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar." "We are now going to Delhi for the NDA meeting," he added. PTI
The Gandhis with Mallikarjun Kharge last evening
10:58 'Bhai Behen Ki Jodi Will Create Problems For Modi'
The Indian National Congress surprised everyone by winning 99 seats, a milestone which no exit polls or pollster predicted.In 2014 the Congress won 44 seats. In 2019, the party won 55 seats.
In 2024, the Congress won 44 more Lok Sabha seats than its 2019 tally.
The Congress won 21.19 percent votes and did much better than the Bharatiya Janata Party in states like Maharashtra where it won 13 seats, four more than the BJP which won 9 seats.
"The BJP coalition has won the elections but is feeling the taste of defeat whereas the Congress and its alliance partners who will sit in the Opposition are feeling the day of triumph," Rasheed Kidwai, the veteran Congress watcher and author of 24 Akbar Road and Sonia: A Biography, tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com.
Read the interview here.
10:56 Police move JJB to seek extension of Porsche teen's remand
The Pune police have moved an application before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) seeking extension for 14 days the remand of a 17-year-old boy allegedly involved in a car crash which claimed two lives, an official said on Wednesday.
The remand of the juvenile, who is lodged at an observation home here, ends on Wednesday. "We have moved an application before the JJB seeking the extension of his remand at the observation home for another 14 days," a Pune crime branch official said.
A hearing is scheduled on Wednesday before the JJB on the Pune police's plea. Two IT professionals were killed in the early hours of May 19 in Kalyani Nagar of Maharashtra's Pune city after a Porsche allegedly driven by the juvenile rammed into their two-wheeler.
The police claim the juvenile was under the influence of alcohol at that time. The JJB had granted bail to the teenager, son of a real estate developer, a few hours after the incident and asked him to write a 300-word essay on road safety.
Following severe criticism, the police again approached the JJB, which modified the order and sent the accused juvenile to the observation home till June 5.
Sharad Pawar holds a meeting of the party's parliamentary board. File pic
10:53 So, what's happening with Sharad Pawar?
Despite suffering a politically debilitating split in the NCP last year, veteran leader Sharad Pawar led from the front in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, where his party won eight of the 10 seats it contested, cementing his position as the tallest politician in the state.
The 83-year-old electoral battle hardened politician is a lynchpin for the anti-BJP opposition alliance at the national level and a key architect of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the state.
With its performance in the Lok Sabha polls, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) has received a new lease of life in the state, where assembly polls are due in October.
The former Union minister, who has more than 50 years of experience in electoral politics, led the campaign for his party NCP (SP), which fought the polls on a new symbol -- a man blowing turha (a traditional trumpet) -- held strategy meetings and carefully selected candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.
The party contested 10 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in alliance with the MVA constituents Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT), and won eight of them on Tuesday. It lost Satara and Raver. But the NCP (SP) candidate gave a tough fight to the BJP rival in Satara. Political analyst Prakash Akolkar said the NCP (SP) has produced an excellent strike rate (winning 8 of 10 Lok Sabha seats it contested) and it only goes to show which is the "real" NCP.
Chandrababu Naidu celebrates victory with family
10:48 Chandrababu Naidu heads to Delhi
TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu thanked the people for the overwhelming mandate given to NDA in Andhra Pradesh. In a social media post on Tuesday night, Naidu also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior BJP leaders Amit Shah and JP Nadda for their commitment to Andhra Pradesh's future.
TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu says, "Today, I am heading to Delhi. After the completion of the election, this is my first press meet before going to Delhi. I am very glad for the support of the voters. Ups and downs are common in politics. Many political leaders and parties have been ousted in history. This is a historic election. Even voters from abroad have returned to their hometowns to exercise their votes."
The National Democratic Alliance of TDP, BJP and Janasena won a landslide victory in the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, bagging 21 Parliament and 164 Assembly seats. Party-wise, the TDP won 16 Lok Sabha seats, BJP three and Janasena two.
Out of 25 Lok Sabha seats, NDA swept 21 seats away while YSRCP managed to win only four seats. In the Assembly polls, the TDP got 135 seats, Janasena - 21 and BJP - 8. The YSRCP got 11 seats. "Today (Tuesday), my heart is filled with gratitude. I thank the people of our state for blessing the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance with an overwhelming mandate to serve them. Together, we have won a battle to reclaim our state, and together, we will rebuild it," he said in the post.
Naidu further said the victory is the result of the hard work and dedication of leaders and cadres who fought bravely against all odds until the last vote was cast. The TDP leader said he extends heartfelt gratitude to each one of them for their unwavering commitment and congratulates them on this outstanding achievement. PTI
10 biggest single-day falls
10:38 Markets bounce back after Tuesday bloodbath
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty began the trade on an optimistic note on Wednesday after facing heavy drubbing in the previous trade as value-buying at lower levels led to an uptrend in the markets.
Making a strong comeback after Tuesday's sharp decline, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 948.83 points to 73,027.88 in early trade.
The NSE Nifty went up by 247.1 points to 22,131.60. While the NDA is comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha, the BJP has fallen short of the magic number for the first time since 2014 and is critically dependent on its allies for government formation. The Election Commission has declared results for all 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, with the BJP winning 240 seats and the Congress 99.
"Despite the reduced majority, we expect the policy agenda of Modi 2.0 (investment-led growth, capex, infrastructure creation, manufacturing, etc.) to continue, although with some tweaks. We also expect some populist measures to address rural stress and lift sentiments at the margin, given the nature of the verdict," as per a report by Motilal Oswal Research.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, Asian Paints, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ITC were the biggest gainers. Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid, NTPC and State Bank of India were among the laggards.
10:21 The biggest story for the BJP and all political parties is that India is still a poor country
The jolt to the BJP's politics is so severe that if and when the NDA government is formed, Modi will have to reset his image before he could resurrect the BJP, writes Sheela Bhatt.
Read the column here.
10:14 Lok Sabha elections: Final table of seats won by parties
The Election Commission has declared results for all 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, with the BJP winning 240 seats and the Congress 99. The last result to be announced was that of the Beed constituency in Maharashtra, where NCP (Sharad Pawar) candidate Bajrang Manohar Sonwane defeated the BJP's Pankaja Munde by 6,553 votes. The Lok Sabha has 543 members. However, votes were counted for 542 seats after the BJP's Surat candidate Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed.
Following are the number of seats won by parties in all states and Union Territories in the Lok Sabha elections, according to the Election Commission website:
BJP - 240
Congress - 99
Samajwadi Party - 37
Trinamool Congress - 29
DMK - 22
Telugu Desam Party - 16
JD(U) - 12
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackrey) - 9
NCP (Sharad Pawar) - 8
Shiv Sena - 7
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) - 5
YSRCP - 4
RJD - 4
CPI(M) - 4
Indian Union Muslim League - 3
AAP - 3
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha - 3
Janasena Party - 2
CPI (ML) (Liberation) - 2
JD(S) - 2
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi - 2
CPI - 2
Rashtriya Lok Dal - 2
National Conference - 2
United People's Party, Liberal - 1
Asom Gana Parishad - 1
Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) - 1
Kerala Congress - 1
Revolutionary Socialist Party - 1
NCP - 1 Voice of the People Party - 1
Zoram People's Movement - 1
Shiromani Akali Dal - 1
Rashtriya Loktantrik Party - 1
Bharat Adivasi Party - 1
Sikkim Krantikari Morcha - 1
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - 1
Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) - 1
Apna Dal (Soneylal) - 1
AJSU Party - 1
AIMIM - 1
Independent - 7
10:09 NDA to meet ahead of government formation
Senior leaders of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are likely to meet on Wednesday to take stock of the Lok Sabha poll results and deliberate on the details of government formation.
JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, who is set to become the next Andhra Pradesh chief minister, will attend the meeting where top leaders of the BJP and its other allies are also expected to be present, sources said. They are expected to congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is set for a record-equalling third term at the helm, and discuss with him the details of the new government, which is likely to be different in composition and character with a bigger share for the BJP's allies.
While the NDA is comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha, the BJP has fallen short of the magic number for the first time since 2014 and is critically dependent on its allies for government formation.
TDP, JD(U), Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Chirag Paswan-led LJP (Ram Vilas) have won 16, 12, seven and five seats respectively and will play a crucial role in government formation. PTI
South Delhi candidate Rajan Singh
09:46 LS polls: All transgender candidates lose security deposits
All three transgender candidates who contested the Lok Sabha elections have lost their security deposits, highlighting the challenges faced by the community in gaining political representation in the country.
India is yet to see a transgender person elected to the Lok Sabha.
All the three transgender candidates contested as independents.
Sunaina Kinnar, who contested from Dhanbad, received 3,462 votes. Rajan Singh, a candidate from South Delhi, garnered 325 votes. Durga Mausi, who stood for election from Damoh (Madhya Pradesh), secured 1,124 votes.
Despite their efforts, none of the candidates came even close to winning, and all failed to retain their security deposits.
The Election Commission's regulations stipulate that candidates failing to secure a minimum of one-sixth of the total valid votes polled would have their security deposits redirected to the treasury. -- PTI
09:27 Nomura says India's economic fundamentals remain robust
India's economic fundamentals remain robust, investment bank Nomura said on Wednesday after the results of the country's general elections paved the way for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third consecutive term in office.
Modi is poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
The Election Commission of India has declared results for all 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, with the BJP winning 240 seats and the Congress 99.
"Our assessment is that India's economic fundamentals remain robust. Reforms in India have generally survived the test of politics and we expect the government to continue the pace of governance and administrative reforms, leaving states to work around the more intractable reforms around land and labour," Nomura said.
While near-term uncertainty is high and the political backdrop is slightly different, the broader direction of reforms, macros and the economy remain unchanged, it added.
The immediate focus is on government formation, as well as political parleys between parties, Nomura said, citing news reports that the swearing-in ceremony could happen on June 9.
"We believe the Cabinet could have some new faces and our focus will be on the final budget, most likely in early July, to assess the policy direction," the investment bank said.
The first 125-day agenda of the new government will most likely focus on digitalisation, infrastructure, industrialisation and governance-related reforms, it added.
The election outcome could result in some reorientation of spending towards revex from capex. -- PTI
08:46 LS polls final result: BJP wins 240 seats, Cong 99
The Election Commission of India has declared results for all Lok Sabha constituencies, with the BJP winning 240 of the 543 seats and the Congress 99.
The last result to be announced was that of Beed constituency in Maharashtra, where NCP (Sharad Pawar) candidate Bajrang Manohar Sonwane defeated the BJP's Pankaja Munde by 6,553 votes.
While the Lok Sabha has 543 members, counting was held for 542 seats after the BJP's Surat candidate Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed.
According to the final results, declared early on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
The BJP, whose candidates contested in the name of Modi, won in 240 seats, falling short of the 272 majority mark and needing the support of allies in the party-led NDA for government formation, a far cry from the 303 and 282 seats it had won in 2019 and 2014, respectively, to have a majority on its own.
With support from key allies N Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Nitish Kumar's JD(U), which won 16 and 12 seats in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, respectively, and other alliance partners, the NDA crossed the halfway mark.
The Congress, which is part of the opposition INDIA bloc, won 99 seats compared to 52 it won in 2019, eating into the BJP's share in Rajasthan and Haryana.
As the Samajwadi Party kept the INDIA bloc's morale high in Uttar Pradesh with 37 seats, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), another key member of the opposition alliance, won 29 seats in West Bengal, higher than its 2019 tally of 22. The BJP, which had won 18 seats in the last Lok Sabha elections, won 12 seats.
The results did not throw up a landslide victory the BJP-led NDA had hoped for and what was projected by the exit polls.
More than 640 million votes were to be counted in the world's largest democratic exercise, conducted from April 19 to June 1 in seven phases.
02:41 Lok Sabha elections: Two candidates booked for rape secure victory
Two candidates with rape cases registered against them have won the Lok Sabha elections, the results of which were declared on Tuesday.
BJP candidates Saumitra Khan and Madhavaneni Raghunandan Rao have cases registered against them under Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code.
Khan won from West Bengal's Bishnupur constituency by 5,567 votes and Rao from Telangana's Medak by 39,139 votes.
Some candidates, including those facing serious criminal charges such as attempt to murder and hate speech, also won.
The BJP's Shantanu Thakur, who won from West Bengal's Bangaon, has charges related to attempt to murder, statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between communities, among others, registered against him.
Dulu Mahato, who won on a BJP ticket from Jharkhand's Dhanbad, has 22 serious cases, including related to criminal intimidation and attempt to murder, registered against him. The BJP's West Bengal unit chief Sukanta Majumdar, who retained his Balurghat seat, has 30 serious cases against him.
According to poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 1,643 candidates have criminal cases registered against them.
File image
02:27 BJP sweeps all five LS seats in Uttarakhand
The BJP on Tuesday swept all the five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand for a third straight time thwarting yet another attempt by archrival Congress to make a comeback.
This is the fifth consecutive election in which the party routed its principal rival Congress to reassert its political dominance in the hill state.
It had not only defeated the Congress in 2014 and 2019 general elections but also in the 2017 and 2022 assembly elections in the state.
The Congress had won only 11 seats against the BJP's 57 in a house of 70 in 2017.
Improving its position slightly in 2022, it won 19 seats against the BJP's 47.
Snatching an early lead over their nearest rivals from the Congress, BJP candidates consolidated it as the counting progressed to eventually clinch it 5-0.
Union Minister of state for defence and tourism Ajay Bhatt won the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar Lok Sabha seat defeating Congress' Prakash Joshi by 3,34,548 votes, the Election Commission said.
Bhatt had won the seat in 2019 for the first time, defeating Congress veteran and former chief minister Harish Rawat by 3,39,096 votes.
He was leading from the seat by the biggest margin in comparison with the rest of the BJP candidates. Bhatt is a former president of Uttarakhand BJP and a former leader of opposition in the state assembly. -- PTI
Congress candidate Manish Tewari
02:08 Congress' Manish Tewari wins from Chandigarh, defeats BJP's Sanjay Tandon
Congress candidate Manish Tewari defeated the BJP's Sanjay Tandon to secure victory from Chandigarh's lone Lok Sabha seat.
Tewari, a former Union minister, won by a slender margin of 2,504, according to data on the Election Commission website.
The senior Congress leader said his win was a victory for justice, peace and stability.
"Grateful to Chandigarh and my beloved people for their blessings in making me win the elections. This is the victory of justice, peace and stability over divisive politics -- a true win for democracy," Tewari said. "The people of Chandigarh are the torchbearers of safeguarding our Constitution. I guarantee that together we shall usher in a bright progressive future for Chandigarh, as promised. Thank you once again for your faith in my leadership," he said.
Tewari maintained his lead over Tandon since counting began, despite Congress workers alleging later on Tuesday that there was a delay in declaring the final result.
File image
01:38 BSP's vote share continues to decline for 3rd consecutive term, NOTA dips too
The vote share of the Bahujan Samaj Party, which trailed third on all seven seats behind the BJP and Congress-AAP alliance, continued to witness a decline for the third consecutive term as it gasped at a mere .70 percentage of the total vote share.
The Mayawati-led BSP witnessed a vote share of 1.23 per cent in 2014 and 1.08 percent in the 2019 general elections.
The vote share of the party flared a little above the NOTA (None of the above) vote share, which was registered at .50 percent.
After, the Bharatiya Janata Party, BSP was the only national party that fielded its candidates on all seven seats of Delhi.
In the East Delhi seat BSP's candidate Mohd. Waqar Choudhary trailed with 9,197 votes. -- PTI
01:10 Largest exercise of democracy in history: US on India polls, neutral on results
The US on Tuesday praised India's parliamentary elections as the "largest exercise of democracy in history", while refraining from commenting on the outcomes of the polls.
State department spokesperson Matthew Miller commended the Indian government and its voters for successfully completing the massive electoral process.
"On behalf of the United States, we want to commend the government of India and voters there for successfully completing and participating in such a massive electoral undertaking, and we look forward to seeing final results," he stated during his daily news briefing.
Miller emphasised the US stance on not commenting on electoral winners and losers worldwide.
"I'm also not going to comment on winners and losers in elections as is our case around the world. What is important for us and what we have seen over the past six weeks is the largest exercise of democracy in history, as the Indian people came to the polls," he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the BJP-led NDA getting a majority in the Lok Sabha. -- PTI
00:50 BJP's sitting MP Jugal Sharma bags Jammu seat for third time
Sitting MP Jugal Kishore Sharma retained his seat and secured a third consecutive victory in the Jammu Lok Sabha seat.
He attributed his success to people and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sharma, who has been an MP since 2014, received 6,87,588 votes, defeating his closest competitor Raman Bhalla, Jammu and Kashmir Congress vice president, by a margin of 1,35,498 votes.
Bhalla, who had also lost to Sharma in the 2019 elections, garnered 5,52,090 votes. -- PTI
00:41 BJP-led NDA gets simple majority, crosses half-way mark
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance on Tuesday got a simple majority in the Lok Sabha elections by winning 273 seats.
While results for 498 seats were declared by the Election Commission, counting on 45 seats was still on.
According to the tally on the EC website, the BJP has already won 226 seats, and its allies TDP and JDU won 12 seats each, Shiv Sena 7, LJP (Ram Vilas) 5 and JDS and RLD two seats each. Other NDA partners including Jana Sena, NCP, UPPL, AJSU, HAMS, SKM and Apna Dal (Sone Lal) have won one seat each. The BJP had already won the Surat Lok Sabha seat unopposed.
As per the latest tally, the BJP was leading in 12 more seats, while TDP was leading in four more seats and some other NDA partners like AGP were leading in one seat. -- PTI
RJD's Misa Bharti
00:32 RJD's Misa Bharti wins from Patliputra, Rohini Acharya loses in Saran
Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti, RJD candidate and elder daughter of party supremo Lalu Prasad, won the Patliputra Lok Sabha seat, defeating her nearest BJP rival Ram Kripal Yadav by a margin of over 85,000 votes.
However, Rohini Acharya, Lalu's other daughter who was an RJD nominee from Saran Lok Sabha constituency, lost by over 13,661 votes to BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
In Patliputra Lok Sabha seat, Misa Bharti secured 6,13,283 votes, whereas, her nearest rival BJP's Yadav secured 528109 votes.
In Arrah Lok Sabha seat, BJP leader and Union minister RK Singh lost his seat by over 59,808 votes to Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation)'s Sudama Prasad.
Raja Ram Singh of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) won Karakat Lok Sabha seat by defeating Bhojpuri singer and independent candidate, Pawan Singh, by a margin of over 1,05858 votes.
Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) Liberation's candidate, Shiv Prakash Ranjan, won the Agiaon assembly constituency by-poll with a margin of over 29835 votes by defeating his nearest rival Prabhunath Prasad of the Janata Dal (United). -- PTI
00:25 Cabinet to call for dissolving Lok Sabha today
The Union Cabinet will meet on Wednesday morning to take stock of the Lok Sabha election results and may recommend the dissolution of the current Lok Sabha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the meeting, which will begin at 11.30 am, a day after the general election results were declared.
Sources said Modi has convened the meeting at his Lok Kalyan Marg residence and is likely to recommend the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha, whose term ends on June 16. -- PTI
TOP STORIES
© 2024 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances