<p>The BJP took a big lead as millions of votes polled in the Lok Sabha election were counted Friday, with its candidates racing ahead of all others in 71 of the 122 seats.<br /><br /></p>.<p>As an army of officials began the mammoth counting process in 989 places across the country, it was clear that a BJP wave was sweeping northern, western and central India, leaving the Congress far behind.<br /><br />BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi took early lead in both Vadodara in Gujarat and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, his two Lok Sabha constituencies.<br /><br />Also in the lead were BJP veterans Uma Bharti (Jhansi), L.K. Advani (Gandhinagar) and Rajnath Singh (Lucknow). <br /><br />Election officials said all the seats in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, all ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, were going the BJP way.<br /><br />Congress president Sonia Gandhi was in the lead in Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.<br /><br />Congress candidates were in the lead in 32 constituencies, mainly in the country's south. Other parties were ahead in 19 places.<br /><br />An estimated 550 million people voted in the staggered Lok Sabha election that ended May 12.<br /><br />Exit polls have predicted a victory for the BJP and its allies.</p>
<p>The BJP took a big lead as millions of votes polled in the Lok Sabha election were counted Friday, with its candidates racing ahead of all others in 71 of the 122 seats.<br /><br /></p>.<p>As an army of officials began the mammoth counting process in 989 places across the country, it was clear that a BJP wave was sweeping northern, western and central India, leaving the Congress far behind.<br /><br />BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi took early lead in both Vadodara in Gujarat and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, his two Lok Sabha constituencies.<br /><br />Also in the lead were BJP veterans Uma Bharti (Jhansi), L.K. Advani (Gandhinagar) and Rajnath Singh (Lucknow). <br /><br />Election officials said all the seats in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, all ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, were going the BJP way.<br /><br />Congress president Sonia Gandhi was in the lead in Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.<br /><br />Congress candidates were in the lead in 32 constituencies, mainly in the country's south. Other parties were ahead in 19 places.<br /><br />An estimated 550 million people voted in the staggered Lok Sabha election that ended May 12.<br /><br />Exit polls have predicted a victory for the BJP and its allies.</p>