Election Results 2019 LIVE updates: This is a historic victory, says Amit Shah

“This is a historic victory. After 50 years someone has won an absolute majority for the second time in a row,” said BJP President Amit Shah

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Chief, Mayawati said, “Today's result is against the expectations and sentiments of people. Anyway, when all the institutions of the country start bending their knees before the government, the public has to take a stand.”

With more security personnel than party workers, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee's house and the street leading to her residence in South Kolkata's Kalighat wore a deserted look on Thursday with counting trends for the Lok Sabha polls showing a big increase in the BJP's numbers and a consequent decrease in the ruling party's tally of seats.

Barring some workers who were celebrating party's Kolkata South candidate Mala Roy's huge about 1.5 lakh vote lead, the mood was sombre as many senior leaders gave the miss to their usual celebratory gathering at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street.

The emotive Sabarimala row in which senior BJP leaders played a key role failed to help the party open its account in the Lok Sabha battle in Kerala.

With counting of votes reaching its last round in Kerala, the Congress and its United Democratic Front (UDF) were poised to grab 19 of the 20 seats, leaving only one seat to the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

The usual best showing for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came in Thiruvananthapuram where it finished second while ending up in the third spot in all other 19 constituencies.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and said that he looks forward to work together with him for the city's people.

"I congratulate Narendra Modi for this historic win and look forward to working together for the betterment of the people of Delhi," the Aam Aadmi Party chief said in a tweet.

Tejashwi Yadav, RJD: Respect people's mandate and congratulate PM Narendra Modi. We hope that the dual engine govt in Bihar will solve the problems faced by people here. Would like to thank our workers, no reason to be disappointed, will continue the fight.

Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, JP Nadda, Thawar Chand Gehlot and former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan greet people at BJP Headquarters.

Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and her husband and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Thursday won their respective parliamentary seats in Punjab.

Harsimrat Kaur was locked in a multi-cornered contest from the Akali Dal stronghold of Bathinda, where the others in the fray were Congress candidate Amrinder Singh Warring, AAP's Baljinder Kaur, Punjabi Ekta Party candidate and Bholath legislator Sukhpal Singh Khaira.

Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is leading over TMC's Apurba Sarkar (David) by 78545 votes, from Baharampur (West Bengal)

"The word ‘Chowkidar’ goes from my Twitter name but it remains an integral part of me", tweets PM Narendra Modi

Frankly, today is the not the day to discuss what I think went wrong because people of India have clearly decided that Narendra Modi is going to be their Prime Minister and as an Indian I respect that, says Rahul Gandhi

I had said that during the campaign 'janta maalik hai' and today people have clearly given their decision. I congratulate the PM and BJP, says Rahul Gandhi

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on his victory in the general elections and expressed desire to work with him for peace, progress and prosperity in the region.

"I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted.

The CPI(M) on Thursday said the people of the country had given a "decisive" verdict in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha polls and it was time for the Left party to "introspect".

The Left Front, which is likely to come up with its worse poll show since 1952, is leading in only five seats so far -- the CPI(M) in three seats in Tamil Nadu and the CPI in two seats in Kerala.

"The CPI(M) has suffered a serious setback in this election. We shall introspect the reasons for this and draw proper lessons for the future.

“Thank you India! The faith placed in our alliance is humbling and gives us strength to work even harder to fulfill people's aspirations.I salute every BJP Karyakarta for their determination, perseverance and hard work.They went home to home, elaborating on our development agenda, says PM Modi

Complimenting the BJP for its victory, the RSS on Thursday said it is the "triumph of national forces" and people of the country are fortunate to have a stable government once again.

"Many compliments to each and everyone who have contributed to this victory of democracy. The spirit and ideal of democracy have once again been established for the world to witness," Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi said in a statement.

Congress candidate from Nagpur, Nana Patole, who is trailing behind Union minister and BJP candidate Nitin Gadkari, Thursday alleged that the polling agents were not allowed to check the electronic voting machines (EVMs). As per the latest trends, Gadkari is leading by 1,01,132 votes over Patole. As the counting of votes is in progress, Patole visited the counting centre in Kalamna Yard here and met Collector and Returning Officer Ashwin Mudgal.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Patole said the returning officer should give information about the number of VVPAT slips and the votes counted in the EVMs. "Some discrepancies were found and we sought the right to check the machines...Gadkari is getting identical votes of 559-559 from the booths belonging to the Nagpur East (Assembly) constituency. Usually, it is not possible that the voting count is same in every booth. This indicates that there are problems in the machines," he said.

Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc has written to PM Narendra Modi congratulating him.

After losing 19 out of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala to the UDF, CPI(M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that the Left respects the decision of the people of Kerala.

“This is an unexpected situation, but it is only temporary. The Left has faced failures before also. In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, we did not win any seats, but we came back. Again in 1984, we had a major setback but in 1987, we overcame all those obstacles. So this is also temporary,” said Kodiyeri.

With a comfortable lead over LDF candidate PK Biju, also sitting MP of the constituency, Remya is all set to become the second ever Dalit woman Member of Parliament (MP) from Kerala. Bhargavi Thankappan from CPI was the first woman Dalit MP from Kerala, who had won from the Adoor seat in 1971.

While Remya has received 5,32,046 votes, PK Biju has managed to get 3,73,409 votes.

Mehbooba Mufti tweeted, “Congratulations to Narendra Modi ji for a historic mandate. Today surely belongs to BJP and it’s allies. Time for Congress to get an Amit Shah.”

Shashi Tharoor on Congress leading in Kerala said, “The state has become an exemplar for what the politics of the Congress nationally could be. I just hope we will be able to build from the very disappointing result nationally.”

As the BJP marched towards a grand victory in the Lok Sabha elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Thursday said "alert voters" have rejected the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) of opposition parties.

"It is high time for the opposition to introspect and shun politics of negativity," Adityanath told PTI.

The chief minister said that "alert voters have rejected opportunistic and casteist politics of the mahagathbandhan".

He gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah full credit for the party's "historic victory".

As the BJP heads for a clean sweep in the Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said the people's mandate has to be accepted.

"We accept the people's mandate with humility. The Congress has always worked to build a strong democracy. I thank the people of the state and Congress workers for a peaceful participation in polling," Gehlot said.

The chief minister said the party workers worked hard to take policies, principles and programmes of the Congress under the leadership of party president Rahul Gandhi to people but they need not get disheartened.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on the "remarkable" win in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls.

"Congratulations on the remarkable win in Andhra Pradesh. Best wishes to you for a successful tenure," Modi said.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said he would not blame the electronic voting machines (EVMS) for the defeat of anti-BJP parties in the Lok Sabha polls and added he has gracefully accepted the people's mandate.

Pawar said the opposition parties had anticipated the BJP would do well in certain states, but did not expect "such a big victory" across the country. "Doubts were indeed raised (about EVMs functioning)," Pawar told reporters.

"But I don't want to blame the machines now since the result is out. Once the verdict is out, it has to be accepted gracefully and I am accepting it gracefully," he said.

“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,” said LK Advani

Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief and former union minister Upendra Kushwaha, who is trailing from both Ujiarpur and Karakat Lok Sabha constituencies, on Thursday accepted peoples verdict with all grace and said its time for the Mahagathbandhan to introspect.

Janata Ka Nirnay Sir Akhon Par (I humbly accept peoples verdict). Its time for introspection for Mahagathbandhan/UPA instead of making accusations against anyone. This is neither the victory of any candidate nor of those who are in power in state government. This is rather the result of opposition leaders failure to read the mood of the people, Kushwaha said in a tweet

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the convincing victory of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the parliamentary elections and expressed his readiness to work together to build up the full range of bilateral relations.

"I am convinced that, as the Prime Minister of India, you will further strengthen the centuries-old friendship between our peoples and the all-round development of a particularly privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India," Putin said in a congratulatory message.

“a SOLID SLAP on my face ..as More ABUSE..TROLL..and HUMILIATION come my way..I WILL STAND MY GROUND ..My RESOLVE to FIGHT for SECULAR INDIA will continue..A TOUGH JOURNEY AHEAD HAS JUST BEGUN ..THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO WERE WITH ME IN THIS JOURNEY. .... JAI HIND,” tweets Prakash Raja

King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a telephonic conversation

Supporters of Union Minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh clashed with rival supporters of former JNU student leader and Communist Party of India candidate Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai on Thursday, police said.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and main Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a resounding victory for a second term in office.

If we presented rural distress,unemployment,economic slowdown properly. If we should've questioned Pulwama instead of Balakot. They say 'Once horse has bolted what's the point of closing stable door?'.If horse comes in hand after 5 yrs, fine, else it'll go ahead, said Omar Abdullah.

Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday congratulated the winning candidates of the Lok Sabha polls but stressed on the need of a complete review of it.

She said that VVPATs would be matched after the counting process was over.

Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers, she remarked on her Twitter handle.

The Congress on Thursday said it was feeling dejected as trends are not in line with the expectation of the party.

"Congress party is feeling dejected and the trends are not in line with the expectations of the party. I would not jump to the results till complete counting has taken place," Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill told reporters.

"If they (trends) hold, then Congress needs to introspect as to why its campaign failed to resonate with the people of the country," he said.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah with a lead of 57,000 votes, is all set to win the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir for a fourth time.

"The National Conference candidate (Abdullah) has taken an unassailable lead of 57,000 votes over the nearest rival, PDP candidate (Aga Syed Mohsin)," an election official said.

India's election results made headlines in Pakistan on Thursday, with the media keeping a close watch on the ruling BJP's electoral fortunes by providing comprehensive coverage of the initial trends and reactions.

The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the formation of the next government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack.

Total number of seats - 40

Trends available for - 40

Party Leads

BJP: 16

JD(U): 15

LJP: 06

RJD: 02

INC 01

CM K Chandrashekhar Rao's daughter K Kavitha trailing from Nizamabad, BJP candidate Dharmapuri Arvind leading by over 31,000 votes

Congress' Mumbai-North Lok Sabha seat candidate Urmila Matondkar on Thursday alleged that there was a mismatch in signatures on an electronic voting machine (EVM) form.

The actor, who was trailing against BJP's Gopal Shetty by over 1,45,991 votes, said a complaint was filed with the Election Commission in this connection.

Union Minister and BJP leader Babul Supriyo leading from Asansol, BJP's Arjun Singh leading from Barrackpore and TMC's Mimi Chakraborty leading from Jadavpur

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is likely to tender his resignation on Thursday

YSRCP leading on 149 seats, TDP leading on 25 seats and Janasena Party leading on 1 seat

Union Ministers Manoj Sinha and Maneka Gandhi trailing from Ghazipur and Sultanpur respectively

TMC leading on 25 seats, BJP leading on 16 seats and Congress on 1 seat; total seats 42

Samajwadi Party veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav is leading in the Mainpuri seat by more than 7,500 seats.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s daughter and party’s Baramati candidate Supriya Sule is leading by nearly 30,000 votes.

Anantnag
NC : 7312
Congress : 8421
PDP: 5303
BJP: 317

CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar is trailing behind BJP’s Giriraj Singh by nearly 59,000 votes.

Total seats: 20

Trends available: 20

Party Leads Results

UDF : 19

LDF: 1

BJP: 0

Sharad Pawar's nephew Parth Pawar (NCP) is trailing from Maval in Maharashtra.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra is trailing. BJD candidates are leading in Berhampur, Kendrapada, Kandhamal, Puri, Nabrangpur, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Aska, Bargarh, Koraput.

Stunner for Stalin as DMK-Congress Lead in 37 of 38 Lok Sabha Seats, Neck-and-Neck With AIADMK in Bypolls

YSRCP leading on 35 seats, Telugu Desam Party leading on 6 seats, total 175 constituencies

The benchmark BSE Sensex rallied nearly 800 points and the NSE Nifty soared over 200 points to hit their respective record highs in early trade on Thursday, as counting of votes for the Lok Sabha election began.

Union Minister and sitting BJP MP Jayant Sinha is leading by 6,486 votes against his nearest Congress rival Gopal Prasad Sahu from Hazaribagh Lok Sabha seat as per initial trends, officials said.

For all the real time updates, follow Election Results 2019

National Conference President Farooq Abdullah, BJP leader Jitendra Singh and Congress state president G A Mir were leading in their respective constituencies in the early trends of counting of votes for Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir Thursday.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is leading in Rae Bareilly.

Parth Pawar, the grand-nephew of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, is leading in Maval Lok Sabha seat of Maharashtra, as per initial trends available.

BJP's Sunny Deol and Congress's Sunil Jakhar are contesting from the seat.

A Raja ahead in Nilgiris, Kanimozhi leading in Thoothukudi as DMK leading in 6 seats.

BJP-9, Congress-3, JDS-1, Mizo National Front-1, NCP-1, NDPP-1, Shiv Sena-1

Congress's Pawan Kumar Bansal, BJP's Kirron Kher and AAP's Harmohan Dhawan are contesting from the Lok Sabha seat

Congress President Rahul Gandhi is leading in Wayanad seat. He is up against PP Suneer of CPI(M).

The counting of votes for all the 40 parliamentary seats of Bihar began on Thursday in 35 counting centres amid tight security, officials said.

According to the Election Commission officials, a total of 72,723 EVMs at the counting centres will decide the fate of 626 candidates, including 56 women.

Counting of votes for elections to two Lok Sabha constituencies and four Assembly seats where bypolls were held, began at 8 am Thursday at two centres.

Votes for North Goa district were being counted in Panaji and for South Goa district in Margao, an election official said.

The Assembly constituencies of Panaji, Mandrem and Mapusa fall under North Goa district and Shiroda in South Goa district.

Counting of votes for all 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh began at 27 centres, one each at every district headquarters, at 8 am on Thursday.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made at the counting centres, particularly those in Naxal-hit areas, state Chief Electoral Officer Subrat Sahoo

Counting of votes for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 begins at counting centre in Mount Carmel College

The counting exercise is on in over 4,000 counting centres amid concerns raised by opposition parties over alleged tampering of EVMs. They have asked the Election Commission to ensure transparency in counting. Election Commission officials said results are expected only by late evening.

“The results will be definitely in favour of Congress. We're expecting that Congress will win and form govt. Rahul Gandhi will be the PM. The fight in Delhi is between BJP and Congress,” says Ajay Maken

JD(S) Mandya candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy offers prayers at Chamundeshwari Temple in Mysore

The Election Commission of India will start counting of votes for the seven-phase Lok Sabha Elections on Thursday at 8 am.

Out of the total 543 Parliamentary seats, elections were held in 542 constituencies as the Election Commission had cancelled polls to the Vellore seat in Tamil Nadu on the grounds of excessive use of money power. The fresh date for elections in Vellore is yet to be announced.