New Delhi: The power corridoors in Delhi are abuzz with frenetic activity following the declaration of results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Leaders of all major parties are making a beeline for the national capital to take part in coalition talks.
As the numbers stand, the BJP-led NDA is in pole position to form the government with a total of 293 seats. After the BJP emerged as the single largest party, albeit falling more than 32 seats short of the majority mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told cadres at the party HQ Tuesday evening that the “results of the Lok Sabha Elections of 2024 enabled NDA to emerge victorious for a third time”.
On the other side is the INDIA bloc of opposition parties with a total of 234 seats. Of these parties, the Congress with 99 secured the most number of seats. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge while addressing a press conference at the party HQ Tuesday evening said that the people of India had delivered a mandate ‘against Modi’.
LIVE | NDA, INDIA bloc in huddle
7.05pm: “Mandate decisively against PM Modi, substance, and style of his politics. Despite clear moral defeat, he is determined to subvert will of people,” said Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge at INDIA bloc meet.
6.30pm: INDIA bloc leaders begin crucial deliberations on possibilities of government formation at Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence. (PTI)
6.30pm: NDA leaders pass resolution underlining alliance govt’s commitment to serving poor, women, youth, farmers and deprived sections of society. (PTI)
6.28pm: NDA leaders unanimously elect Narendra Modi as their leader in the proposal passed by the leaders of the NDA in Delhi. (ANI)
6.18pm: “First we will decide the importance of the results. We will consult with the alliance partners on how to move further… We have enough time. Let them (NDA) also try. So what if they (BJP) have come up as the single largest party?…” said CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on the INDIA bloc meeting. (ANI)
5.35pm: The Cabinet in its today’s meeting advised President Droupadi Murmu to dissolve the 17th Lok Sabha with immediate effect. The President has accepted the advice of the Cabinet and signed the order dissolving the 17th Lok Sabha. (ANI)
5.09pm: “This is a time for serious introspection for the BJP and party workers like me… We built the Ram Temple after 500 years of wait and huge airports and railway stations. An illusion has been created among the people, we will clear that illusion and create an environment in the favour of the party,” said BJP’s Raebareli candidate, Dinesh Pratap Singh.
3.58pm: NDA leaders arrive at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg to attend the NDA meeting.
#WATCH | NDA leaders arrive at 7, LKM to attend the NDA meeting in Delhi
(Outside visuals from 7, LKM) pic.twitter.com/nnb3foG36w
— ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2024
3.40pm: “I accept responsibility for the Maharashtra setback. Will request the party leadership to relieve me from the post of Deputy CM so that I can concentrate on party affairs full time,” said Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
3.18pm: “…NDA has won 292 seats in the entire country. Narendra Modi will again become the Prime Minister of the country…” said Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.
3pm: “This is a victory of common people. Our workers have worked very hard on field. Akhilesh Yadav’s slogan of PDA has succeeded. People trust him,” Shyam Lal Pal, UP Samajwadi Party state President told ThePrint in Lucknow. (Inputs by Krishan Murari)
1.30pm: PM Modi’s swearing in ceremony is likely on 8 June. The union cabinet recommends dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha. (Inputs ANI)
12.45pm: The BJP cabinet meeting has begun at PM Modi’s residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg. The Janata Dal-United has asserted it will remain a part of the NDA and demanded proportional representation in the cabinet. (Inputs by Shanker Arnimesh)
12.30 pm: Speaking to the media in Delhi, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury terms the results of the general election a “heavy setback for BJP and especially Narendra Modi”. He adds that the BJP’s “aggressive call for ‘400 paar’ has disappeared into thin air”.
“BJP has no mandate, it has been given to the NDA,” he says.
12.00 pm: A meeting of the outgoing Union Cabinet is underway at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, the official residence of the Prime Minister.
11.30 am: NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief former Union minister Sharad Pawar photographed upon his arrival in Delhi to take part in a meeting of the INDIA bloc. He was accompanied by his daughter Supriya Sule, who has been re-elected to the Lok Sabha from the family bastion of Baramati. The NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) secured 8 seats.
11.15 am: Visuals have emerged of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, whose JD(U) is a constituent of the NDA, travelling to Delhi in the same flight as his former deputy Tejashwi Yadav whose party — the RJD — is a constituent of the INDIA bloc.
JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi confirms to news agency ANI that Nitish Kumar will take part in the NDA meet in Delhi and that the Janata Dal (United) “will submit a letter pledging support to NDA as well as to make Narendra Modi the PM”. Asked about speculation that his party might return to the INDIA bloc, Tyagi says, “There is no question of going back.”
Meanwhile, Chirag Paswan whose Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is also a constituent of the BJP-led alliance, told reporters that the NDA “stands united and will form the government under PM Modi’s leadership”.
11.00 am: Addressing a press conference Wednesday, TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh CM-designate Chandrababu Naidu hails the mandate given to his party and allies Jana Sena and BJP by voters in Andhra Pradesh.
Asked about coalition talks in Delhi, the former chief minister tells reporters, “We are in NDA. I am going for its meeting; will tell you everything.”
(Inputs by Prasad Nichenametla)