Election results: Congress gains ground, touches 100-mark in early trends
What's the story
The Congress Party is showing promising early leads in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with projections indicating over 100 seats.
This marks their highest tally since the 2014 elections, a significant improvement from their previous performances of 44 seats in 2014 and 52 in 2019.
As of 10:30am, the Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc was leading in a total of 212 seats.
Election tally
BJP-led NDA surpasses halfway mark in early counting
In comparsion, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has surpassed the halfway mark of 272 seats, leading in 294 seats.
This comes as a challenge to the INDIA bloc's aim of preventing Prime Minister Narendra Modi from securing a third term.
In 2019, the NDA won 353 seats, with the BJP securing 303 seats alone. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) won 93 seats, with the Congress winning 52 seats.
Poll predictions
Exit polls predict mixed results for 2024 elections
Exit polls for the election forecast that the ruling BJP-led NDA will surpass its 2019 performance when it secured 353 seats.
Two pollsters, India Today-Axis My India and India TV-CNX, predict that the BJP-led NDA could secure as many as 401 seats.
However, Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, insist that their INDIA bloc will win 295 seats.
Leadership race
Key leaders show early leads in 2024 Lok Sabha elections
As the vote counting progresses, key leaders are emerging at the forefront. Gandhi is leading from both Wayanad and Rae Bareli constituencies.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi has regained the lead after initially trailing against Congress's Ajay Rai in Varanasi.
The final results will determine whether these early leads translate into victories for their respective parties.