LIVE | Modi's first response: 'Will script history in my third term'
BJP suffers stunning losses in 3 Hindi heartland states; set to form coalition government with TDP and JD(U)
The BJP suffered stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states, partial poll results showed on Tuesday (June 4), forcing the party to rely on allies to form the government after a bitter and divisive election that was projected as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity.
After 12 hours of counting of votes that began at 8 am, the Bharatiya Janata Party, whose candidates had contested in the name of Modi, won or was ahead in 240 seats to emerge as the single largest party, a far cry from the 303 it had won last time in the 543-member Lok Sabha to mark the return of coalition politics.
BJP's key allies N Chandrababu Naidu's TDP and Nitish Kumar's JD(U) were leading or winning 16 and 12 seats in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar respectively. With the support of its other allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was on course to reach the 272-majority mark.
The TDP swept the assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, dislodging YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSRCP. In Odisha, the BJP landed a stunning victory against the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD.
Modi described the NDA's expected majority as a historic feat in India's history, noting that people have placed their faith in the ruling alliance for a third consecutive term.
The Congress-led INDIA alliance, forged together by their common opposition to the BJP and its ideology, was leading in about 234 seats.
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Alfred Kanngam S Arthur won the Outer Manipur seat by 85,418 votes, defeating his nearest rival Kachui Timothy Zimik of the NPF.
Arthur secured 3,84,954 votes, while Zimik bagged 2,99,536 votes.
In the Inner Manipur seat, Angomcha Bimol Akoijam defeated his nearest rival Thounaojam Basantakumar of the BJP by 1,09,801 votes.
Akoijam got 3,74,017 votes and Singh received 2,64,216 votes.
Manipur has been on the boil since May last year as ethnic violence broke out after a march by Kuki tribals in the hill districts to protest against the valley-dominant Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribes status.
Since then, over 220 people belonging to both the communities, including security personnel, have been killed in the continuing violence. A BJP-led government has been in power in the state since 2017.
After the results were announced, state Congress president K Meghachandra said Chief Minister N Biren Singh should take responsibility for what has been happening in the state and resign on moral grounds.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pledged to work with all states, regardless of the party in power, to build a developed India.
In his first speech after the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Modi laid out his vision for the third term saying it would be a tenure of big decisions and key emphasis would be on uprooting corruption.
"The fight against corruption is becoming tougher by the day. Corruption is being shamelessly glorified for political interest. In our third term, NDA will focus a lot on rooting out corruption of all kinds," Modi said.
Modi's speech did not refer to its reduced numbers in Parliament but focussed on the "clean sweep" victories in assembly elections as well as Lok Sabha wins in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Modi also said that the Congress has been wiped out in several states and pointed out that the combined number of seats won by the opposition alliance was less than that of the BJP alone.
Modi's victory speech at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, however, was thin on politics and heavy on the future roadmap of his government, which he noted was coming for the third consecutive time, a first in six decades.
"Our Constitution is our guiding light. I want to assure that the Centre will work with all states, irrespective of the party in power there, to work towards our resolve to make India a developed country," Modi said.
The prime minister arrived at the BJP headquarters to a rousing welcome by hundreds of supporters who chanted 'Modi, Modi'. He was greeted by BJP President J P Nadda and Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah on the dais.
The backdrop on the stage had 'Dhanyawad Bharat' written in various languages, including Urdu.
Modi began his speech with 'Jai Jagannath' and thanked the people of Odisha for giving BJP a clear mandate for the first time.
He also thanked TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar — his NDA allies – for the electoral successes in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's Manoj Tiwari defeated Congress' Kanhaiya Kumar in the Northeast Delhi Lok Sabha seat by over 1.38 lakh votes.
Tiwari, the only candidate to be repeated by the party, clinched the crucial seat for a record third time.
A Bhojpuri singer, the BJP leader trounced fellow Purvanchali Kanhaiya Kumar by a margin of 1,38,778 votes. The BJP won all seven seats in Delhi in the 2014 and 2019 general elections and is set to repeat the feat for the third time.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress fielded candidates in three of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and the Aam Aadmi Party in four as part of a seat-sharing arrangement between the two constituents of the INDIA bloc.
"There is a need to stake a claim to form the next government. The INDIA alliance meeting on Wednesday (in Delhi) will decide on the Prime Minister's face," Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray said