LS election results Live: Modi pays tribute to Vajpayee ahead of swearing-in

Good morning! Welcome to Deccan Herald's live coverage of the 2019 Lok Sabha election results 2019. Counting of votes for the 542 Lok Sabha constituencies of India will take place today beginning 8 am. Stay tuned to get the latest updates and news as Election Commission officials count votes across the country.

. India saw a seven-phase voting exercise after the Election Commission of India (EC) conducted the pollsin between April 11 and May 19 to elect the 17th Lok Sabha. In this battle royale of sorts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners are incumbents while Oppositionparties, including the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress, and 'Others' or the 'Third Front' is attempting to rise to power.

. The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections , one of the most bitterly fought in recent memory, came to a close on May 19. A staggering 900 million eligible voters will decide the fate of 8,039 candidates fighting for 542 seats when votes will be counted today.

. Most exit polls have projected that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to win a historic second term with a comfortable majority for the BJP-led NDA.

. The Congress-led UPA is projected to win anywhere between 77 to 164 seats marking a major upswing from its showing in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress was reduced to only 44 seats in 2014.

. While the BJP held that the exit polls have given it a clear second mandate, the opposition parties have rubbished them.

. On Deccan Herald, you can follow all the results as they come in. Using the links below, you can get detailed results down to individual constituencies, states and also the overall picture across the country on a real-time basis. You can also get results of Assembly elections that were held in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim.

How to check Lok Sabha election results for your Lok Sabha constituency?

How to check Lok Sabha Election Results 2019?

. The election was heavily contested between the National Democratic Front (NDA) and the United Progressive Alliance. The Mahagathbandhan or the third front is also a key contestant along with regional parties. Click here to compare the performances of the NDA, UPA and other parties from 2009 to 2019.

. Since 2000, the Election Commission has conducted 113 assembly elections and three general elections using EVMs. Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was added to the existing EVMs in 2013 to increase transparency in the system. On 8th April 2019, the Supre Court instructed the ECI to match EVMS with VVPATs in five randomly selected polling stations.

Find out how votes are counted

. Opposition parties will approach President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday afternoon itself urging him not to call the BJP for forming the government if it falls short of the majority mark and instead extend an invitation to them arguing that the mandate is for the formation of an alternative dispensation.

Read the full story here.

. Karnataka , the only stronghold of BJP in South India, witnessed a tight fight during the Lok Sabha elections. The state has a total of 28 constituencies and the elections held in two phases on April 18 and 23. Lost in Assembly polls to Congress-JD(S) coalition in 2018, the BJP took this election as a serious fight to retain the historical number of seats the party gained.

Find out live updates on Karnataka Lok Sabha Election result here.

. Will the euphoria in the stock market continue even after the results are out and the next government is formed, presumably by Narendra Modi if one were to go by the exit polls? This is the question on top of the minds of brokers, investors and companies that have a huge stake in the markets. A 1,421-point rally in Sensex on a single trading day after the exit polls predicted a victory for BJP/NDA in the Lok Sabha polls resulted in a bonanza for investors — an over Rs 5.33 lakh crore accretion in the value of stocks. The Nifty logged its best gains in 10 years. On the surface, the rally may look like the market is betting on a Modi encore. There’s already feverish talk that Sensex may hit the 42,000-mark in the next two months.

. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday issued an unprecedented alert to state governments about the possibility of "eruption of violence" in various parts of the country during the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections.

The MHA's direction to the states and union territories to "further take adequate measures" to ensure security of strong rooms and venues of counting of votes came in the wake of "calls and statements" issued by "various quarters" for "inciting violence and causing disruption" on the day of counting of votes on Thursday.

. Both main candidates of the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency -- K Nikhil of the JDS-Congress coalition and Independent A Sumalatha -- are visiting the temple of Sri Chamundeshwari atop the Chamundi Hill, in Mysuru. They will reach Mandya, where the counting of the votes cast in their favour will be taken up, later.

. Mandya Lok Sabha constituency JD(S)-Congress coalition candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy is confident of victory. “The voters in Mandya have already taken a decision and the results will be in my favour. I don’t consider exit poll results seriously. In 2004 election, a few exit polls had predicted that JD(S) will win only two seats. However, the party had won 58 seats. The voters in Mandya constituency are in my favour,” he said on Wednesday.

. Sitting BJP MP Anurag Thakur is leading with 3,103 votes against his nearest rival Ram Lal Thakur of Congress in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur seat: Officials. -- PTI

. Janasena Party chief Pawan Kalyan leads in Bhimavaram Assembly segment.

. ALSO READ | Karnataka Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE Updates

. Catch all the updates live from Assembly elections results here .

. Mandya: With the counting of votes beginning for Lok Sabha polls beginning Nikhil Kumaraswamy the coalition candidate has maintained a lead of 1050 votes against Independent candidate A Sumalatha. Initially, Sumalatha was in the lead.

. Sitting BJP MP Anurag Thakur is leading with 3,103 votes against his nearest rival Ram Lal Thakur of Congress in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur seat. |Congresscandidate Jasbir Singh Dimpa is leading by 721 votes over his nearest rival and SAD nominee Bibi Jagir Kaur from Punjab's Khadoor Sahib seat, as per initial EC trends. --- PTI

. BJP leads by 8480 votes over JD(S) after the completion of 109 booths out of 2021 in Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency.

. PM Narendra Modi is leading in Varanasi.

. Official EC trends: BJP leading on 133 seats, Congress leading on 41 seats

. In Mizoram, the ruling Mizo National Front candidate C Lalrosanga is leading by 5,130 votes against his nearest Independent rival Lalnghinglova Hmar in the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state, officials said. -- PTI

.Official EC trends: BJP leading on 162 seats, Congress leading on 51 seats . Catch leads, wins and live updates on the Andhra Pradesh Assembly Election result here

. Amid tight security, counting of votes is underway on Thursday for 40 Lok Sabha seats across Bihar which will decide the fates of 820 candidates, including five Union ministers.

. BJP president Amit Shah is leading in Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat by over 19,000votes against his nearest rival and Congress candidate C J Chavda after counting of first round, election officials said. -- PTI

. BJP's Pragya Singh Thakur is leading against Congress' Digvijaya Singh by a margin of 3,105 votes in Bhopal Lok Sabha seat of Madhya Pradesh, as per initial trends.

. Andhra PradeshAssembly Election Trends

YSRCP 95 TDP 23 Janasena 2

. YSRCP 7 TDP3

. The BJP-led NDA has crossed the halfway mark of 272 seats.

. According to EC official trends, BJP leading on Chandni Chowk, North West Delhi, South Delhi and West Delhi parliamentary seats out of 7 seats -- ANI

. Markets witness selling in last few moments; Sensex up 591 points as NDA crosses 272-mark. Catch the action on bourses live here

. The NDA is leading in 334 seats, a massive margin. Take a look

. If early counting trends are anything to go by, the Congress-JD(S) coalition could be in for a major upset with the BJP leading in more than 20 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka.

JD(S) supremo and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda is trailing against BJP’s GS Basavaraju in Tumkur . Gowda’s eldest grandson Nikhil, son of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, is locked in a close contest with BJP-backed independent Sumalatha in Mandya - the two are virtually taking turns in leading. Gowda’s younger grandson Prajwal is leading by over 50,000 votes against BJP’s A Manju in Hassan.

Congress veterans Mallikarjun Kharge (Gulbarga), M Veerappa Moily (Chikkaballapur) and KH Muniyappa (Kolar) are trailing.

As on 10.30am Thursday, the BJP is leading in 23 seats.

. The Sensex has hit 40,000 -- a historic high -- as the election results started projecting a comfortable victory for BJP and the NDA.

Catch all the action on the bourses in our exclusive Market Live Blog.

. Kerala Trends : At 10.45 a.m.

Rahul Gandhi's lead at Wayanad crosses One lakh as 22.5 percent votes counted Rahul Gandhi 1,60,693 P P Suneer of CPI's (LDF) : 58,318 Tushar Vellpally of BDJS (NDA) : 16,880

. Tech giant Google on Thursday said it is bringing live updates on the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections live across Search and YouTube.

. BY Raghavendra of BJP leads by 1,01,871 votes over JD(S) in Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency. BJP has gained 3,09,751 votes while JD(S) got 2,07,544 votes.

. Mysuru: Pratap Simha maintains lead against Vijayashankar of Congress. Prathap gets 1,09,238 votes while Vijayashankar gets 95,145.

. Chikkodi: BJP candidate Annasaheb Jolle lead by 13,582 votes after counting of 1,97,980 votes. Prakash Hukkeri, Congress trails

. With leads in 330 constituencies, the NDA is set for the biggest mandate since 1984. Check it out here.

Also, click here to compare the performances of the NDA, UPA and other parties from 2009 to 2019.

. Meanwhile, in Delhi , the NDA is leading in all 7 seats. The leads give no chance to the likes of AAP led by Arvind Kejriwal.

. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh is readying for a change of guard. YSCRP is leading in 150 seats, all set to decimate Chandrababu Naidu's TDP which is leading in just 24 seats.

Check live updates from Andhra Pradesh Assembly election here.

. In what could be an indication of a clear-cut wave in favour of YS Jaganmohan Reddy, the YSR Congress Party is leading in 138 assembly segments in the 175-seat Assembly pushing ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to the second position with a majority in only 36 seats by the end of the second round.

. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is currently taking the lead in the two Lok Sabha constituencies of Arunachal Pradesh, as per the initial trends of the Election Commission.

. BJP's Shobha Karandlaje is leading by 73,660 votes against Pramod Madhwaraj.

Shobha Karandlaje -1,45,694

Pramod 72,034

. The BJP forged ahead of its rivals in 58 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh while the BSP-SP alliance was leading in 19 seats as counting of votes progressed, according to Election Commission trends.

. The YSR Congress seems to be on course of making a clean sweep of the Lok Sabha seats with the party leading in all 25 seats in Andhra Pradesh.

As per the latest election commission data, the YSRC-led by Y S Jaganmohan Reddy is surging ahead in all the constituencies. The TDP, BJP and Congress are nowhere in the picture.

All parties fought the election on their own without any alliance, unlike in 2014 when the TDP-BJP sailed together.

YSRCP legislature party to meet on 25 May. The swearing-inceremony could be on 30 May, say party sources.

. Amid overwhelming trends in favour of the BJP, the party's Jammu and Kashmir chief, Ravinder Raina, said Thursday it is victory of nationalism in the country.

"It is a vote for nationalism in the battle of nationalists and 'anti-nationalists'. It is a victory of the country's people. It is a victory of nationalism," Raina said.

.The ruling BJP is surging ahead in all four Lok Sabha seats of Himachal Pradesh, with its candidates securing unassailable leads, according to latest Election Commission trends.. BJP candidate Nalin Kumar Kateel said that the Modi wave of 2014 election has converted to Modi tsunami in 2019polls. Voters have supported five years development works initiated by NDA government in the election. Voters have proved that for the security of the country, development works and for good administration, government led by Narendra Modi is needed in the country

. DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) in Tamil Nadu appeared headed for a clean sweep as it led in 35 of the 38 Lok Sabha seats in the state Thursday. The ruling AIADMK, which had registered a landslide in the 2014 elections under the leadership of its supremo late Jayalalithaa, is trailing in most of the 20 seats it contested as also its allies, including the BJP.

. Kerala Trends : At 12.45 pm Rahul Gandhi's lead margin crosses 2 lakh in Wayanad. Congress camphas been expecting 3.5-lakh margin for the party president.

. BJP candidate and sitting MP Kirron Kher is leading against her nearest rival and Congress nominee Pawan Kumar Bansal from the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seatas per EC trends.

Kher is leading by 1,514 votes against four-time MP and former railway minister Bansal.

. Mumbai North Gopal Shetty(BJP): 2,23,800 votes

Urmila Matondkar (Congress): 77,809 votes

Mumbai North East Manoj Kotak (BJP): 3,40,774 votes Patil Sanjay Dina (NCP): 1,96,621 votes

Mumbai North West Gajanan Kirtikar (Shiv Sena): 1,15,720 votes Sanjay Nirupam (Congress): 62,397 votes

Mumbai North Central Poonam Mahajan (BJP): 1,79,559 votes Priya Dutt (Congress): 1,00,985 votes

. Jaganmohan Reddy wishes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Says will fight for Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh. "God and People blessed us," he said in Amaravati.

. Celebrations in BJP camp

. Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency BJP candidate Umesh Jadhav leads by 44000 votes over Congress candidate Mallikarjun Kharge.

. Union Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan on Thursday took a jibe at the opposition parties over their allegations on discrepancies in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), saying people having less knowledge of technology were laughing at them. He also said that the country wanted to see Narendra Modi as the prime minister again.

"People are laughing at them (opposition parties). Even those who have less knowledge of technology are also laughing. All these people, especially the poor, want to see Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister again," he told ANI. Harsh Vardhan is the sitting MP from the high-prestige Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency.

. The initial trends appear to be mixed for the Yadav clan of the Samajwadi Party, with party supremo Akhilesh Yadav's cousins trailing from Firozabad and Badaun seats in Uttar Pradesh .

In Azamgarh , Akhilesh Yadav is leading by 45,023 votes against Bhojpuri actor and BJP candidate Dinesh Lal Yadav 'Nirhua', according to the Election Commission website.

The SP chief's wife, Dimple Yadav, is leading by 5,420 votes over the BJP's Subrat Pathak in Kannauj . SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav is also leading in Mainpuri by 15,297 votes over the BJP's Prem Singh Shakya.

. Tamil actor Siddarth wrote, "TamilNadu is speaking in its own unique voice. Incredible anti #AIADMK wave. The #DMK has fought a disciplined campaign and the state and its future will remain in the hands of its own. This paves the way for stability following the last few years of total chaos in our state.

. YS Jaganmohan Reddy to take oath as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister on May 30: Ummareddy Venkateswarlu, YSRCP

. People of India have once again given Modi ji a chance to lead the country, they love him. I would like to thank the people of India, especially people of North-East for supporting Modi ji. I want to assure people that Modi ji will take us forward:Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP

. Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe tweets, "Congratulations to Narendra Modi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you."

. Sadananda Gowda, BJP's BangaloreNorth Lok Sabha constituency Candidate after winning at St. Joseph Indian High School

. Chincholi assembly constituency BJP candidate Dr Avinash Jadhav wins against Congress candidate Subhash Rathod in bypoll.

. A near clean sweep by the BJP Opposition in the state seems to have dampened the spirits of the ruling coalition — the Congress and the JD(S) in Karnataka.

Even as the BJP headquarters at Malleshwaram was bustling with workers chanting slogans and distributing sweets, the party headquarters of the Congress on Queens’ Road and the JD(S) in Sheshadripuram wore a deserted look.

. With the BJP taking the upper hand in Karnataka election results, pressure on H D Kumaraswamy to quit has risen further. An emergency meeting is called by HDK today, regarding this.

. National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah on Thursday congratulated the BJP and the NDA for its "stellar performance" in the Lok Sabha polls.The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for putting together a winning alliance and a professional campaign.

. "The result is India's mandate against propaganda, lies, personal insinuations and baseless politics by the opposition. Today's mandate also shows that the people of India have chosen evolution and nationalism by completely uprooting casteism, familyism and appeasing from the country. Naman to India," Shah said on Twitter.

. "Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs matched," she tweeted.

. "I accept people's decision but this is also a fact that people had their doubts about EVMs. Congress had performed really well in Rajiv Gandhi's time, but nobody doubted elections then, same when Atal Bihari Vajpayee won," he said.

. With the exception of'Dream Girl' Hema Malini and Bhojpuri star Ravi Kishan, other Bollywood stars such asJaya Prada,Raj Babbar andDinesh Yadav 'Nirahua' are trailing in their respective constituencies.

. "Heartiest congratulations to Narendrabhai Modi for steering BJP towards this unprecedented victory in elections. Amitbhai Shah as BJP President & all dedicated workers of the party have put in enormous effort in making sure that BJP's message reaches every voter.t's such a wonderful feeling that in a country as large & diverse as India, electoral process has been so successfully completed & for that, my compliments to the electorate & all the agencies involved. May our great nation be blessed with a bright future ahead," he said according to ANI.

. " Congratulations on the remarkable win in Andhra Pradesh. Best wishes to you for a successful tenure," he toldJagan Mohan on Twitter.

"Congratulations to Naveen Babu for yet another victory in Odisha. Wishing him the very best for the next term," he said.

. Prime Minister Narendra Modi retains seat in Varanasi. BJP president Amit Shah is leading in Gandhinagar constituency by a large margin. Close fight in Amethi between Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani. Sonia Gandhi is leading against the BJP candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh in Rae Bareli. CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar is trailing massively behindBJP’s Giriraj Singh inBegusarai in Bihar.

. Of the remaining 536 constituencies, BJP is leading in 294, INC in 50, AITC in 23, DMK in 23, Shiv Sena in 18, YSRC in 23, BJD in 14, JD(U) in 15 and BSP in 11 constituencies.

. Congress' Digvijaya Singh is trailing.

. 'We accept people's verdict and congratulate PM Modi and BJP workers,' says Priyanka Gandhi

. The Shiv Sena on Thursday lavished praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the BJP-led NDA appeared to be retaining power comfortably, saying nobody would be able to pose a challenge before him for the next 25 years.

. The high-voltage political battle between Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani is in the final stage of the Amethi constituency and already Congress president has conceded defeat to arch-rival BJP contestant.

. Buoyed by its victory in the Kashmir Valley, former chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soften his stand on Kashmir and start a dialogue with Pakistan.

. Union minister and firebrand BJP leader Giriraj Singh retained the Begusarai seat for his party, trouncing his nearest rival Kanhaiya Kumar of the CPI by a staggering margin of over four lakh votes.

Singh, who had moved to Begusarai from Nawada, after initial reluctance over having to give up his sitting seat, got 6.88 lakh votes out of a total of 12.17 lakhs polled on April 29.

. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury took the responsibility on Thursday for his party's dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls, saying as the chief of the party, he was the "first" person who was accountable for its poor show.

. While the rest of the country was painted Saffron on May 23, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could not break through the Southern front entirely. Except for sweeping Karnataka and making inroads into Telangana, the BJP was unable win any seats in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

. The Bharatiya Janta Party has once again repeated its performance of 2014 by winning all 25 Lok Sabha seats. However, this time thevote share of the saffron party in Rajasthan which is 58.45 is three-percent more as compared to the last general elections.

. Hours after the poll trends indicated massive rout of the ruling-LDF in the Lok Sabha polls inKerala, Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the defeat was "unexpected" even as the Congress demanded his resignation on moral grounds.

. It was not a wave. It was Tsunami. Or Tsunamo, as many BJP leaders are saying. The BJP-led alliance in Bihar gave its best-ever performance in any Lok Sabha elections, wresting 38 out of 40 parliamentary constituencies. The winning strike rate was 95 %.

. BJP’s surge in the Northeast, which began in 2014, continued further with the saffron party and its allies leading in 16 of the 24 Lok Sabha seats in seven states.

. This time there are at least 15 MPs who have a victory margin of over five lakh votes, which includes BJP chief Amit Shah.This is a record too, as onlythree such candidates held this distinction in 2014.

. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi mounted a voluble, high-profile campaign against Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, perhaps his personal best, and yet managed a come a spectacular cropper.

. YSRCP 150

TDP24

JANASENA 1

AP LOKSABHA FINAL TALLY (25)

YSRCP 22

TDP 3

TELANGANA LS FINAL TALLY (17)

TRS9

BJP 4

CONG 3

AIMIM 1

. With Narendra Modi set to lead Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in New Delhi once again, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday joined Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to congratulate him.

. US President Donald Trump on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his "big" election victory, saying "great things" are in store for bilateral ties between the two nations with the Indian premier's re-election.

. Prime Minister NarendraModi on Friday thanked world leaders and personalities as their congratulatory messages kept pouring in after he led his Bharatiya Janata Party to a super-sized victory for a second term in office.

Thanking American vice president Mike Pence, who congratulated him saying he looked forward to working with India,Modisaid it was a victory of democracy which the India and US cherish.

"Thank You @VP. This is a victory of democracy, which India and the US cherish. I will continue to promote our partnership with the US for peace and shared prosperity for our two countries and the world,"Moditweeted Friday.

In a series of tweets,Modithanked world leaders such as Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France President Emmanuel Macron, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and several others who wished the him on his party's landslide victory.

In his messages to the world leaders, the PM said he looked forward to strengthen close strategic partnership with these countries.

. He combined BJP's core Hindutva plank with a hardcore nationalism agenda and set up a huge ground-level organisational setup to execute it theBJP's 'Chanakya' Amit Shahblazed such a trail that the 'Modi Wave 2.0' surpassed its own original avatar with a much bigger saffron surge.

. It is for the second successive time in a decade that the opposition has all but been wiped out in the national elections.Unfortunately for BJP-baiters, the 2019 elections proved no better than 2014, save for some small gains for parties like BSP.

. CPI National Secretary D Raja spoke to DH's Shemin Joy about the election results, what it means by Narendra Modi's return and the relevance of Left despite its electoral drubbing.

. Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation D V Sadananda Gowda, Hubli-Dharwad Lok Sabha member Prahlad Joshi, Belgaum MP Suresh Angadi and Haveri MP Shivakumar Udasi are frontrunners for ministerial berths at the Centre, from Karnataka.

. Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik Friday announced his resignation from the post in the wake of the party's electoral debacle in the state.

. Describing the landslide win of the BJP-led NDA as "triumph of the national forces", the RSS expressed happiness over India getting a stable government again.

. Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured a huge victoryin the Lok Sabha Elections 2019, heralding a second consecutive term of his governance. As he and the Bharatiya Janata Party surged towards victory, reactions poured in from around the globe. Following arethe headlines from newspapers around the world.

. In the wake of the Congress' dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, state party president Raj Babbar has sent his resignation to Rahul Gandhi.

. Narendra Modi, who is set to retain the office of Prime Minister, will restart his foreign visits next month with back-to-back tours to Bishkek (the capital of Kyrgyz Republic) and Osaka (Japan).

. After a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, top Congress leaders will deliberate on party losses at a meeting of the working committee slated on Saturday in which party chief Rahul Gandhi is likely to offer his resignation.

. Newly-elected MPs of the BJP-led NDA will meet on Saturday to formally elect Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their leader, setting in motion the process of formation of the new government.

. The stepping aside of the Gandhi family from the leadership role in the Congress following its debacle in the Lok Sabha elections is not a solution, a senior party leader said Friday, hinting that other leaders may not be able to hold the party together.

. Now that a remarkable victory has been won, and Narendra Modi is set to be crowned again, it is time to pause, to contemplate and to embrace grace as a way of politics.

. Consistency in raising issues concerning the state, stitching together a formidable alliance of like-minded parties and taking Narendra Modi head-on like never before helped the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-Congress combine sweep the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, winning 37 of the 38 seats up for grabs.

. BJP president Amit Shah travelled over 1,58,000 km for the Lok Sabha campaign – equivalent to going around the world four times— touching 312 Lok Sabha constituencies early on and then 161 after the announcement of the election dates.

. Having won 39 out of 40 seats, the NDA may have registered its best-ever performance in this part of the cow-belt.But at the same time, chances are that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah would like Nitish to play a national role too, besides continuing as Bihar Chief Minister.

. Nurturing hopes of cornering a big chunk of Lok Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh in alliance with one time arch rival BSP, Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav not only suffered his worst drubbingin the LS polls but also saw his family's 'political stock' decline sharply owing mainly to the bitter family feud and the 'Modi wave'.

. West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Friday criticised TMC for allegedly letting loose violence on the party's workers in the state since the Lok Sabha polls and said BJP would follow the 'tit for tat' policy to counter it.

. China on Friday welcomed the exchange of greetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan following the ruling BJP's sweeping victory in India's general elections,expressing hope that the two nations would continue to show goodwill and resolve their differences through dialogue.

. The Congress has drawn a blank in 18 States and Union Territories -- an indicator of its decimation in the Lok Sabha polls.

. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday submitted his resignation to President Ram Nath Kovind, marking an end to his first term in office and setting the stage for the formation of the new government.

. The new Lok Sabha will be opening its innings with a new record -- it will have the highest number of women MPs with 78 of the 726 candidates romping home comfortably.

. Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said there was no need for All India Congress Committee president Rahul Gandhi to resign over the dismal performance of the party in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls.

. The 2019 Lok Sabha election is the first Parliamentary election in two decades where national security issues played a key role in shapingaprime minister's persona as a decisive leader, who can take the crucial decision of sending troops across the border to avenge the killing of Indians.

. A lot of prominent politicians who took on the NDA were on the losing side on May 23. We look at some of them.

. Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday mocked the Congress for eyeing the prime minister's post, but ending up with a tally which falls short to even help it get the chair of the leader of the opposition.

. The Congress Working Committee meeting on Saturday could witness a watershed moment with party President Rahul Gandhi offering to quit owning up responsibility for the humiliating debacle in the Lok Sabha elections.

. "Will be going to Gujarat tomorrow evening, to seek blessings of my Mother. Day after tomorrow morning I will be in Kashi to thank the people of this great land for reposing their faith in me," saidPM Narendra Modi.

. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi mounted a voluble, high-profile campaign against Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, perhaps his personal best, and yet managed a come a spectacular cropper. The Congress tally stood at 51 seats at the time of writing, a total increase of seven seats as compared to its 2014 tally. The party was unable to win a single seat in over a dozen states and Gandhi himself lost in the family pocket borough of Amethi to BJP’s Smriti Irani. The Congress vote share figures were set to go up by a nominal two to three percentage points but the damage to the party and its leadership cannot be salvaged on the basis of this one underwhelming feat. Read more

. Top Congress leaders from across the country on Saturday got together to review the Lok Sabha poll drubbing, as the party's highest decision-making body met here. Read more

. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to party workers, said everyone worked for this victory. We succeeded because of cumulative leadership effect and not single leadership. He urged the PMO to continue to be efficient and maintain the success of the party. He congratulated them on the victory. "We succeeded because of cumulative leadership effect and not single leadership...PMO should continue to be efficient," he said.

. Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora submits the list of winners of Lok Sabha Electionsto President Ram Nath Kovind. President of India, on advice of Union Cabinet, has signed the order of dissolving the 16th Lok Sabha. Photo:ANI

. Govt Sources: There is speculation in the media about invitations to foreign dignitaries for the swearing-in ceremony. At the moment, we have no information on this matter. We will share details with the media once a decision is taken. Source: ANI

. "Congress president Rahul Gandhi should not resign, there is no need": Maharashtra Congress Ashok Chavan

. NDA leaders are likely to call on President on Saturday around 7 pm, followed by PM to call on President to stake claim to form New Government around 8 pm.

PM to interact with or make a statement to the media after staking claim to form New Government.

. "I accept the responsibility of defeat of Congress in Maharashtra": Ashok Chavan

. "All state Congress presidents including me should resign, I have told the party, let the party decide, you cannot hold Rahul Gandhi responsible": Ashok Chavan

. The full Election Commission on Saturday called on President Ram Nath Kovind and handed over the list of 542 newly-elected members of the Lok Sabha that will enable him to initiate the formal process of new government formation.

. CWC to meet again for another round of discussions at a later date,adopts resolution authorising Congress President to restructure party organization.

. After CWC meeting at which Rahul Gandhi remained adamant on not staying on as party President, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal and it's media department Chairman Randeep Singh Surjewala to brief media at 3:45 at AICC Headquarters.AK Antony, Tarun Gogoi and RPN Singh also to be present during media briefing.

. PMK, an influential political party in northern Tamil Nadu wielding considerable influence among dominant Vanniyars, and actor Vijayakant’s DMDKgain prominence every few months before an election and go into oblivion after the exercise is over.

. Congress President made an offer to resign from his post owning responsibility for the party defeat but Congress Working Committee unanimously rejected it and told him that the party requires his leadership in the adverse circumstances today: Randeep Surjewala says after CWC meeting

. CWC unanimously urges Rahul Gandhi to lead the party and work out a complete overhaul of the party structure : says AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal

. "In a democracy winning or losing keep happening but providing leadership is a different matter. He gave a leadership, one which is visible - maybe less on TV but very evident among the public. We've accepted our defeat but it was a defeat of numbers & not ideology.": Ghulam Nabi Azad. Source: ANI

. "In CWC meeting everyone unanimously told him (Rahul Gandhi) he did a good job...No one has a doubt on his leadership but the situation was like that. If someone can lead the party in such a situation, it's only Rahul Gandhi.if anyone can lead the opposition, it's only Rahul Gandhi.": Ghulam Nabi Azad

.This pro-incumbency wave is tied with the thread of trust, the trust that was not only between people and govt but also among people themselves: Modi. President requested PM Modi to advise him about the names of those to be appointed as members of Union Council of Ministers. President asks Modi to indicate the date and time of swearing-in ceremony to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

. A day after being appointed prime minister for a second term, NarendraModiSunday called on Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.

Sources described it as a courtesy call.

Modireached the vice president house here to meet Naidu this morning.

Modiwas Saturday appointed prime minister by President Ram Nath Kovind after he was unanimously elected NDA parliamentary party leader at a meeting in which he asked coalition members to work without discrimination, stressing on the need to win the trust of minorities.

In the general election, he led the BJP-led NDA to a landslide victory with the alliance winning 353 seats, including an unprecedented 303 by the BJP. (With inputs from PTI)

. YSR Congress Party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-designate Y S Jaganmohan Reddy met Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi at his residence here on Sunday.

. They will be addressing a gathering outside BJP's old headquarters in Muslim dominated Khanpur, Ahmedabad which was started in 1987. It was the first office in Ahmedabad which saw BJP's major political achievements including its win in Ahmedabad municipal election and subsequentassembly and general elections. The headquarter was shifted to Gandhinagar in 2012 which is known as Kamalam.

. An Odiya superstar emerged victorious in Naveen Patnaik's prestige battle, a Marathi TV actor who essayed Shivaji's role, an actor with "dhaai kilo ka haath", a cricketer who was part World Cup-winning squad and two young actresses from West Bengal are part of the celebrity brigade in the new Lok Sabha.

. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh: The situation would have been different had they (BJP) won just 250 seats (in Lok Sabha elections). We would have then supported BJP only after they signed the Special Category Status document. ANI

. Andhra CM designate Jagan Mohan Reddy: Today was the first meeting with PM. God willing I'll probably meet him maybe 30, 40, 50 times over these 5 years. I'll make it a point to remind him every time, of Special Category Status...As long as we keep reminding, things will change. ANI

. Election Commission says 'model code of conduct has ceased to be in operation with immediate effect after results of Lok Sabha elections and Legislative assemblies in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim.'

. All set to take oath as Andhra Chief Minister on Thursday, YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Sunday revealed his secret wish and his prayer to God during the Lok Sabha elections -- don't give BJP and NDA not more than 250.

. BJP president Amit Shah, while speaking at the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting, may have asserted that “the 2019 mandate has rid the nation of dynastic politics,” but in Bihar, it’s not so.

. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit his parliamentary constituency Varanasi on Monday to thank the people for "reposing faith" in him and offer prayers at the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple.

. The President will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the Prime Minister and other members of the Union Council of Ministers at 7 pm on May 30, 2019, at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

. The fire tragedy in Surat has saddened us all. We stand in solidarity with the bereaved families. May Almighty give them strength in this hour of grief. The State Government is further strengthening disaster management infrastructure across Gujarat: PM Modi

. I am here for a Darshan of the people of Gujarat. The blessings of the state’s citizens have always been very special for me: PM Modi

. PM Modi in Ahmedabad: I saw a video on social media in which a woman from Bengal kept saying 'Modi, Modi'.When asked why? She said "I had visited Gujarat & found development there, I want the same in Bengal" but when that woman was asked for whom she voted, she didn't say anything.

. Now that the Prime Minister has come back with a resounding majority, the political risks have been reduced for the next five years. This has given him ample space to address economic woes.

. Nearly half of the newly-elected Lok Sabha members have criminal charges against them, a 26 per cent increase as compared to 2014, according to the Association of Democratic Reforms.

. Visuals of security from Varanasi ahead of PM Narendra Modi's visit today. An LED screen has been installed at the entrance of Kashi Vishwanath Temple (pic 4) which will live stream visuals from inside when PM Modi will offer prayers. pic.twitter.com/VObjmcgJ5E

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 27, 2019

. Photo: ANI

. In a boost to right-wing BJP, the saffron party has taken a lead from militancy infested Tral assembly segment of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district during the recently concluded Parliamentary elections.

. I had spoken to workers of Varanasi. All of you had ordered me that I can't set foot in Varanasi for a month. The nation might elected me as the PM but for you, I am a worker. For me, your order was the priority,PM Narendra Modi tells BJP workers in Varanasi.

. After the campaign, I used to think of coming here but I used to recall your orders. Maine socha ye nahi to koi aur baba . Rarely is a candidate so relaxed, as I was, during elections & the results. Your hardwork was the reason for it. I was relaxed so I went to Kedarnath: Modi to BJP workers.

. 2014, 2017 and 2019 marked a hat-trick of wins in Uttar Pradesh. Each of these wins is special and should be studied very carefully by analysts.

UP is strengthening India's democratic fabric. Politics is about perception, but pundits must understand that transparency and hard work trump everything. India has shown that to pundits and therefore there is no alternate to transparency and hard work: Modi

. PM speaks on importance of 'perfect synergy' between govt and party, says work and workers create wonders.

. The BJP's massive win in Uttar Pradesh has paved the way for the first reshuffle of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's council of ministers as three ministers have won the Lok Sabha election creating vacancies in the state Cabinet.

. BJP president Amit Shah said on Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed Kashi in the last five years.

. Prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday blasted the political pundits for still dubbing the BJP as the ''party of the Hindi heartland'' and said that the saffron party was a victim of ''political untouchability'', that had been rising in the country.

. Stunned by the rout of his Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar and Jharkhand in the Lok Sabha election, Lalu Prasad Yadav had given up lunch after the declaration of poll results on May 23 for two days.

. The BJP's win in Uttar Pradesh has paved the way for the first reshuffle of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's council of ministers to fill the vacancies created by three state ministers winning the Lok Sabha election and a fourth being sacked.

. CPIM and Left have suffered a severe setback, particularly in strongholds

The electoral base of CPM saw a big erosion in strongholds

BJP could successfully shift the popular narrative away from a multitude of livelihood issues

CPM statement after Polit Bureau meeting

. Senior BJP leader and minister Chandrakant Patil meet Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai, Cabinet reshuffle expected in Maharashtra

. In the backdrop of Congress' Lok Sabha poll drubbing, Rajasthan Minister Udai Lal Anjana said situation would have been different if CM Ashok Gehlot followed his advice of fielding his son Vaibhav Gehlot from Jalore instead of Jodhpur

. MEA: Government of India has invited the leaders of the BIMSTEC Member States for the Swearing-in ceremony on May 30. This is in line with the Government's focus on its 'Neighbourhood First' policy.

. MEA: The President of the Kyrgyz Republic, who is the current Chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Prime Minister of Mauritius, who was the Chief Guest at this year's Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, have also been invited.

. After the debacle in the Lok Sabha polls and calls for accountability, the Congress, on Monday, urged everyone to respect the sanctity of its working committee meeting, while asking the media not to fall into the trap of "conjectures, insinuations, gossip and rumour mongering".

. The simmering discontent in RJDhas come to the fore following its rout in the Lok Sabha election with senior party legislator Maheshwar Prasad Yadav, on Monday, asking Tejashwi to resign from the post of Leader of Opposition to take moral responsibility for the drubbing.

. Senior Congress leader Marri Shashidhar Reddy, on Monday, said Congress Working Committee (CWC) members and All India Congress Committee (AICC) office-bearers should quit their posts to give a free hand to president Rahul Gandhi to undertake a complete overhaul of the party.

. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Monday asserted that there is no threat to his five-month-old Congress government and expressed readiness to take the floor test to prove his majority in the assembly. Read more

. Days after the Lok Sabha poll results, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has moved swiftly to keep his flock of Congress MLAs together to thwart any poaching attempt by a resurgent BJP. Read more

. A proposed meeting of six BSP MLAs with Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh was cancelled here on Monday, but the party dismissed speculation that it was related to support for the Congress government in the state.

. Indiahas invited the leaders of the seven BIMSTEC nations to the Rashtrapati Bhavan inNew Delhi next Thursday to witness Prime Minister Narendra Modi being sworn-in for his second term in office. Read more

. A day after shunning any meeting with party leaders, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met senior party leaders including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his deputy Sachin Pilot. Rahul, who had offered to quit as Congress President owning up responsibility for the party's Lok Sabha debacle, had refused to meet party leaders signalling that he was adamant on relinquishing the top post.

. Rahul Gandhi should not resign. He should prove he can do it. In democracy, the opposition should also be strong: Rajinikanth

. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday called on former president and veteran Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee to seek his blessings. Read more

. DMK President M K Stalin on Tuesday dialled his Congress counterpart Rahul Gandhi and asked him not to step down as President of the national party. In the telephonic conversation, Stalin told Rahul that though he has lost the elections, he has managed to win the hearts of the people. Read more

. Backing the continuation of Rahul Gandhi as the Congress president, senior party leader M Veerappa Moily on Tuesday termed the Lok Sabha election setback for the grand old party as a "passing phase".

The former Union minister said the outcome of one or two elections could not be a pointer to the future prospects of the party, which had seen many ups and downs in its long history.

Describing Gandhi as the "inspiration" for the party, Moily said it was not appropriate for him to quit as the Congress chief.

"Just because (Narendra) Modi has won...that is not a criteria to leave the presidentship. After all, ups and downs are common for the Congress party. We have seen them many a time," he toldPTI.

Recalling that the Congress had secured more than 400 seats in the 1984 Lok Sabha election, Moily said, "...the future prospects of the Congress cannot be decided in one Lok Sabha election or one or two Assembly polls."

"The BJP, after all, can play a game for some time, but it cannot play a sustained game in the politics of this country," the former Karnataka chief minister claimed.

Stating that Gandhi should not insist on his resignation, he said he should "continue to guide the destiny of the party and the nation".

"Apart from legacy, on his own personality, he is the most competent person to lead the party," Moily said.

On Gandhi reportedly suggesting to the Congress high-command to pick someone from outside his family to lead the party, he said the former should think from the perspective of the "Congress family".

"He is the right person to guide the Congress family. He should not think in terms of the Gandhi family, he should think of the Congress family.... One election cannot mar the glory of 135 years of the Congress," Moily said.

The senior leader also denied that the party was facing an "existential threat".

"The Lok Sabha election setback is a passing phase. One or two elections cannot determine the future of the Congress," he said. (With inputs from PTI).

. Last year, after elections, the criminal elements of the Tripura joined BJP to get government protection. These are the same people who are causing violence in the state: Pradyot Manikya

. Linking every village with all-weather roads, building two crore more houses for poor villagers and providing financial assistance to small and marginal farmers by 2022 are among the priorities of Narendra Modi’s government in the rural sector in its second term.

. ‘This time Modi, next time who knows?’ This attitude, it is safe to say, characterises how many opponents of the Modi-led BJP view the road ahead for themselves in the aftermath of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. All except one, perhaps. The 49-year-old president of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi, has decided to own up responsibility for the party's failures and quit.

. As Rahul Gandhi remained adamant on his resignation as Congress president, UPA constituents such as the RJD and the DMK stepped in, cajoling him to stay on contending that he was the best person to revive the party.

. Meeting regional aspirations, eye on future assembly polls and putting forward a fighting force of next generation of BJP will be the key components that will weigh on the mind of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when his Cabinet takes the oath of office on Thursday.

. The state executive of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee will meet Wednesday and would endorse the CWC resolution urging Rahul Gandhi to continue as party chief and steer the party out of its current state, a top party leader said.

The meeting will be chaired by PCC chief and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, he said.

This will be the first meeting of the party after the Congress's drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress failed to win a single Lok Sabha seat in Rajasthan despite a winning the assembly elections there just months back.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, AICC general secretary in charge of Rajasthan Avinash Pande and other senior leaders of the party will attend the meeting which is scheduled at 2.30 pm.

Rahul Gandhi offered to quit as party chief at the CWC meeting on May 25 that unanimously rejected his offer and authorised him to overhaul and restructure the party at all levels. He is reported to be insisting on his resignation and adamant on having a non-Gandhi installed as the party head.

Rajasthan ministers Udai Lal Anjana and Ramesh Meena had demanded introspection and a detailed analysis of the defeat.

Agriculture minister Lalchand Kataria on Sunday announced his "resignation" from the state cabinet.

A purported press release, circulated on social media, said he was resigning over the poor performance by the party in the elections.

But there has been no confirmation on this by the Chief Minister's Office or the Raj Bhawan, and the minister has been unreachable.

Ashok Gehlot faces accusation that he concentrated on his son Vaibhav Gehlot's Jodhpur constituency, neglecting others.

. Congress leader Sheila Dikshit: We are going to be near the residence of Rahul Gandhi, will demonstrate there to convey our feelings that he should not resign. The Party will suffer a very heavy loss which we don't want. We are going there to plead with him to not do this.

. With Arun Jaitley opting out of the new Modi Cabinet, there will be speculations on who gets the crucial Finance Ministry portfolio. The new Modi government will be sworn in Thursday.

. As the talk about Rahul Gandhi quitting as Congress chief refuses to die down, Sonia Gandhi will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi on Thursday, reports suggest.

. Congress President RahulGandhiand UPA chairpersonSoniaGandhiwill attend the swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening at Rashtrapati Bhavan, party sources said.

. Ahead of being sworn in as the prime minister for the second consecutive term, Narendra Modi on Thursday morning paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and BJP veteran late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

. After facing a drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress has convened a meeting of opposition parties in Parliament on May 31 to discuss the possible reasons for their defeat, sources said on Wednesday.

The opposition parties may also discuss their strategy for the Parliament session which is likely to begin from June 6.

This will be the first meeting of opposition parties after the constitution of the 17th Lok Sabha.

Issue of alleged discrepancies in EVMs and VVPAT machines may also feature in the discussions.

The meeting will be held a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet will be sworn-in in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

On June 1, the Congress Parliamentary Party will also hold its first meeting in Parliament's Central Hall.

In the meeting, the Congress will elect the new leader of the parliamentary party and discuss its strategy going forward.

. In handing over a landslide victory to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, voters chose to weigh lightly the economic hardships of the last five years, many of which did result directly from the policy decisions taken by his first government.Voters did not judge Mr. Modi for his record on the economy, but will his second government show more appetite for reforms necessary for the material progress of his voters?More than anything else the answer depends on Mr. Modi’s interpretation of the mandate he has received.

. The Congress has decided not to send spokespersons fortelevision debates for a month.The move comes after the party's debacle in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.

. The Government has not invited the chief of Tibetan Government in Exile, Lobsang Sangay, to witness Narendra Modi being sworn-in for his second term in office of Prime Minister on Thursday – ostensibly to avoid irking Beijing and derailing efforts to mend India-China relations.

LS election results Live: Modi pays tribute to Vajpayee ahead of swearing-in

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