MAY 5, 2024: The Bharatiya Janata Party will form its third government at the Centre in a row. The party won 240 seats, which is 32 short of a simple majority in the Lok Sabha. The Congress nearly doubled its 2019 seats tally as it won 99 seats. In 543 seats that went to polls, 15 Muslim candidates won the Lok Sabha polls, including former India cricketer Yusuf Pathan, who defeated Congress veteran Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in Baharampur. Congress candidate Imran Masood achieved a remarkable victory in Saharanpur, winning by a margin of 64,542 votes. In Uttar Pradesh, the 29-year-old Samajwadi Party candidate Iqra Choudhary triumphed in Kairana, defeating BJP's Pradeep Kumar by 69,116 votes. Another significant win in Uttar Pradesh was by Samajwadi Party's Mohibbullah, who secured the Rampur seat with 4,81,503 votes. Zia Ur Rehman also claimed victory in Sambhal by a margin of 1.2 lakh votes.

In a notable win for AIMIM, party chief Asaduddin Owaisi retained his Hyderabad seat with a commanding margin of 3,38,087 votes, defeating BJP's Madhavi Latha Kompella. In Jammu and Kashmir, Independent candidates made a strong showing: Mohammad Haneefa won in Ladakh by 27,862 votes, while Abdul Rashid Sheikh clinched the Baramulla seat with 4.7 lakh votes. Mian Altaf Ahmad of the National Conference won the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, defeating former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti by 2,81,794 votes. In Srinagar, NC candidate Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi emerged victorious with 3,56,866 votes.

The electoral results also underscored the emerging strength of the Congress-led INDIA bloc, which secured over 231 seats. In contrast, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) garnered 295 seats. This outcome signifies a pivotal shift, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi now required to rely on the support of his allies to form a government a first in his tenure, as the BJP had independently secured majorities in the 2014 and 2019 elections with 282 and 303 seats, respectively. As the political landscape evolves, the INDIA bloc is reportedly reaching out to NDA allies, hoping to muster enough support to challenge the BJP's claim to form the government. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections have undoubtedly set the stage for an intriguing and dynamic political scenario in India.