Elections with Scroll: NDA set for another sweep, BJP likely to win more seats than in 2014

• This blog now comes to an end. We’ll move to breaking down the results and analysing their impact more from here on, but there are other ways to follow the numbers as they continue to come in. You can read our election news coverage here, and Scroll.in’s in-depth reportage here. You can follow live updates here.

• Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday conceded defeat from his party stronghold Amethi in Uttar Pradesh to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Smriti Irani. However, the Election Commission is yet to announce the final result. “I respect the decision and congratulate Smriti Irani ji,” said Gandhi while addressing the media. Before Thursday, only twice has Amethi elected non-Congress MPs.
  
  Read more here:
  Rahul Gandhi concedes defeat to Smriti Irani in Congress bastion Amethi

• Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday conceded defeat in the Lok Sabha elections after she trailed behind National Conference’s Hasnain Masoodi and Congress’ Ghulam Ahmad Mir in the Anantnag seat. “I’ve been fortunate to get the love & affection of my people. They have every right to express their anger for my failings. Accept their verdict with humility,” Mufti said on Twitter.
  
  Read more here: Mehbooba Mufti concedes defeat in Anantnag, says Congress should ‘get an Amit Shah’

• Communist Party of India candidate Kanhaiya Kumar, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time, is trailing behind Bharatiya Janata Party leader Giriraj Singh in Begusarai constituency in Bihar. At 3 pm, Singh had secured 5,74,671 votes and a vote share of 56.39%. Kumar was trailing behind at 2,23,770 votes (21.95% vote share) while Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tanweer Hassan had secured 1,65,831 votes (16.27%), according to the Election Commission.Read more here: Kanhaiya Kumar trails behind BJP’s Giriraj Singh in Begusarai constituency

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday welcomed the Lok Sabha election results, describing them as a victory for India. Amit Shah, the president of the victorious Bharatiya Janata Party, said the results were the people’s mandate against the Opposition’s propaganda and lies. Final results have not been declared yet, but the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance looks set for a landslide victory.Read more here: ‘India wins yet again,’ says PM Modi; Amit Shah denounces Opposition’s ‘lies’

• Several international leaders congratulated Narendra Modi on Thursday as the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is all set for a historic win. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the election results reaffirmed Modi’s leadership. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin also congratulated him.Read more here: World leaders congratulate Narendra Modi, say they look forward to better ties with India

• The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday lost the Panaji Assembly constituency of Goa to the Congress for the first time in 25 years in a bye-election. The bye-poll was necessitated by the death of long-time MLA and Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar in March. The BJP won all other three Assembly seats that had bye-elections in the state along with the Lok Sabha elections since April. The votes cast in all elections are being counted on Thursday. Read more here:Goa Assembly bye-elections: BJP loses Manohar Parrikar’s Panaji seat to Congress

• Bharatiya Janata Party leader and terror-accused Pragya Singh Thakur looks set to win the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat. This is Thakur’s first Lok Sabha election. By around 3.30 pm, she had won 6.24 lakh votes in the constituency. Congress leader Digvijaya Singh was trailing her by more than 2.55 lakh votes. The counting is still in progress. According to Election Commission data, Thakur had won 61.11% of the votes by 3.30 pm, while Singh had 36.09%.Read more here:2019 election results: Pragya Thakur leads by over 2.55 lakh votes in Bhopal, thanks the people

• Opposition parties congratulated the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance for a landslide victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee added that her party will do a complete review. “Congratulations to the winners,” she tweeted. “But all losers are not losers.”Read more here:‘All losers are not losers,’ says Mamata Banerjee after results show major gains for BJP in Bengal

• Indian markets hit a record high on Thursday after Lok Sabha election results indicateda sweeping victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. The Nifty hit the 12,000-mark for the first time while Sensex surged over 1,000 points to 40,124.However, the markets did not hold on to the gains. The Sensex closed nearly 300 points lower at 38,811.39, while the Nifty was about 81 points lower at 11,657.05.Read more here: Sensex hits 40,000 for first time ever as NDA set for a landslide victory

• The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is leading in more than 300 seats, according to the trends over seven hours into counting on Thursday. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, however, is ahead in fewer than 100 seats, while other parties are ahead in 100 others.Read more here:Elections 2019: NDA ahead in over 300 seats, UPA lags behind with less than 100

Scroll’s live coverage of the results:

• More than 8,000 candidates were in the fray for 542 seats, and over 67% of the electorate had turned up to cast their votes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav were among important contestants in this election. Click here for other key races in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
• Here we are tracking the votes being counted in the core and mostly Hindi-speaking states, where the Bharatiya Janata Party scored huge victories in the 2014 General Elections – Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• While much of the country is focused on North India, here we look at the 2019 Lok Sabha races in the five southern states, which are a much more complex mix of established powers, new parties and young leaders hoping to make a mark.
• In focus is also East India, where the BJP is hoping to make major gains. This region, which includes West Bengal, Odisha and the seven states of the North East, especially Assam, accounts for 87 Lok Sabha seats.
• We also have more analytical coverage of voting here, as our reporters provide their insights on the numbers trickling in. This blog will help you follow what’s happening across the country, but with more nuance and context.
• The focus on the Lok Sabha elections has taken the spotlight away from four Assembly polls – Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. However, these state elections may lead to shifts political power in key states. Will the BJP take Odisha? Will Chandrababu Naidu hold on to Andhra Pradesh? 

Other election coverage:

• Shreya Roy Chowdhury and Mridula Chari report on The Silent Army – the five million workers who pull off the Indian elections.
• Aarefa Johari and Nayantara Narayanan travelled to find out in Half the Vote, a series that brought to you the stories and perspectives of women – only women – on life and politics.
• Will BJP win again under Modi? Supriya Sharma travelled to the party’s strongholds to find out as part of The Modi Voter series.
• Rohan Venkataramakrishnan writes about the ten challenges India will face no matter who wins the elections. They range from the water crisis to rural distress to terrible education outcomes.
• You can read our election news coverage here, and Scroll.in’s in-depth reportage here.