Lok Sabha Election Result May 24: As it happened

Many predicted that BJP will lose in these elections. Others said that it will not bag as many number of seats as it did in 2014 elections.

But the results defied all predictions. BJP came back to power with more number of seats.

So what happened? How did PM Narendra Modi and the BJP manage to pull this off?

Watch this video to know more.

Kurukshetra | Analysis of BJP's massive victory in Lok Sabha Elections

After worse than expected performance in Lok Sabha election 2019, all is relatively silent in Congress' camp. Amid reports that party president Rahul Gandhi may have to step down from his post, the Congress Working Committee has organised a meeting.

The meeting is likely to take place at 11 am on Saturday (May 25) at AICC headquarters in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has submitted his resignation to President Ram Nath Kovind. The president has asked him to continue till the new government is formed.

PM Narendra Modi has left for Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet President Ram Nath Kovind. During his meet, PM Modi may submit proposal to dissolve 16th Lok Sabha.

The proposal has already been cleared by the Union Cabinet.

The Union Cabinet passed resolution to dissolve 16th Lok Sabha.

The country has elected 17th Lok Sabha in recently concluded elections.

King Salman of Saudi Arabia called PM Narendra Modi and congratulated him for his victory in the elections.

Not only did Congress lost in the elections, but party president Rahul Gandhi also could not even defend his family seat of Amethi.

Has time come for him to step down and make way for someone else? Should he resign as Congress president? Tell us what you think

Click here to read and tell us what do you think

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh voiced his thoughts over results of recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. Singh was defeated by BJP's Pragya Thakur in Bhopal.

Shiv Sena and BJP have performed very strongly in Maharashtra during Lok Sabha elections 2019. BJP and Shiv Sena bagged 23 and18 seats each. Congress and NCP won 1 and 4 seats each.

Elected Shiv Sena MPs met party chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence 'Matoshree' in Mumbai.

Jammu And Kashmir: BJP supporters celebrate in Leh, Ladakh

I'm upset, there was a delay in seat sharing and process of alliance, it wasn't fair. Unless 'dharma' of an alliance is followed wholeheartedly, it will not be successful: Sadanand Singh, Congress on alliance in Bihar

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Friday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his colleagues for the BJP-led NDA's stellar
performance in the Lok Sabha polls.

In a message to Modi, Vijayan said meaningful cooperation from the Centre was expected in the best interests of the state and country, a statement from the Chief Minister's Officer said.

The BJP-led NDA won 350 seats in the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls, results for which were announced Thursday.

In Kerala, while the CPI(M)-LDF managed to win only one seat, the opposition Congress-led UDF made a clean sweep garnering 19 of the 20 seats. 

The ruling BJD in Odisha is set to form a government for a record fifth term in a row, having bagged 104 of the 146 Assembly seats in the state and
establishing leads in eight others.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is steering his Biju Janata Dal (BJD) singularly to another emphatic victory, has pocketed his home turf Hinjili in Ganjam district and is currently leading from Bijepur constituency in west Odisha.

The BJP has made substantial gains in Odisha this time, with its nominees clinching 23 seats so far, while the Congress has bagged just nine seats.

The CPI(M) and an Independent have bagged one seat each. Counting is currently underway for eight seats.

The BJD, which secured an absolute majority, is marching towards a two-third share in the assembly, with most of its ministers, including S N Patro, Usah Devi, Bikram Keshari Arukh, Prafulla Samal and Nrusingha Sahu registering thumping victories.

Putting up a spirited performance in the Assembly by-polls despite its Lok Sabha debacle, the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu has won nine of the
22 segments where elections were held in two phases in April and May.

The DMK also made electoral inroads, as it added another 13 members to its existing number of 88, even as it has the support of nine of its allies including the eight Congress legislators.

While the DMK enjoyed a 45.1 per cent vote share in the by-polls, that of AIADMK's stood at 38.2.

The vacancies to these 22 seats were created by reasons including the disqualification of 18 AIADMK MLAs in 2017 after they revolted against Chief Minister K Palaniswami who had merged the faction led by him with that of then rebel leader and his now deputy, O Panneerselvam.

Yogendra Mishra, President of District Congress Committee - Amethi, resigns from the post taking responsibility for the defeat

Yogendra Mishra resigns

Tamil Nadu: Newly elected party MPs and MLAs (by-polls) meet DMK Chief MK Stalin at party office in Chennai

I too had contested the election, the party had given me a responsibility, I take the moral responsibility for this debacle and relinquish this job. I've communicated it to my AICC President: Niranjan Patnaik, President, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee to hold a meeting with her party leaders at her residence in Kalighat, Kolkata tomorrow

Sealing its phenomenal electoral victory, the Narendra Modi-led BJP crossed the 300 mark and was leading in one seat as counting for votes for 542 Lok Sabha seats neared its end on Friday.

The massive exercise began Thursday morning with early trends establishing the BJP's conclusive lead, making it evident that Modi's message, packaging muscular nationalism, security and Hindu pride, had worked wonders.

With the BJP riding a Modi wave that took it past its 2014 tally of 282, the opposition was left way behind with the Congress winning only 52 seats, two less than it needs for a Leader of Opposition post in the lower house and marginally more than the 44 it got in the last general elections.

Regional parties followed the Congress in the electoral table.

The DMK with 23 wins, the Trinamool Congress and the YSRCP with 22 each, the Shiv Sena with 18 and the Janata Dal-United with 16 made their presence felt in an election that took on overtones of a presidential contest with the domination of Modi.

The other regional parties, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, did not fare well.

Karnataka Congress Campaign Committee President, HK Patil writes to party president Rahul Gandhi, states, 'It is time for all of us to introspect. I feel it my moral duty to own up the responsibility, hence, I submit my resignation from the post.'

The BJP has comfortably crossed the 31-seat mark in Arunachal Pradesh to claim simple majority in the 60-member Assembly, while its rival Congress has bagged just four seats so far, the results made available by the Election Commission showed.

Counting of votes is still underway for five assembly constituencies in the state.

For the first time, the BJP will form government in the Himalayan state with the support of its own MLAs.

The saffron party has clinched 37 Assembly seats, including three unopposed, and is currently taking a lead in two constituencies.

The JD(U), which made its maiden entry into the electoral scene of Arunachal Pradesh, won seven seats so far, while another debutant National People's Party (NPP) secured four seats.

UP Congress president Raj Babbar sends resignation to Rahul Gandhi over party's performance in Lok Sabha polls

BJP's onslaught was stopped wherever there were regional parties, says Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM

BJP won 177 out of 300 where Congress was against them, after this result if someone says that they alone have the right to rule the country or defeat BJP, I don't think it has any value: Owaisi

Madhya Pradesh: Pragya Singh Thakur reaches BJP state headquarters in Bhopal. She defeated Congress' Digvijaya Singh with a margin of 3,64,822 votes from Bhopal parliamentary constituency.

Pragya Singh Thakur reaches BJP headquarters in MP

Andhra Pradesh: Senior bureaucrats of the state arrive at YSRCP Chief Jaganmohan Reddy's residence in Amaravati.

Jaganmohan Reddy will take oath as the Chief Minister on 30th May.

Bureaucrats arrive at residence of Jaganmohan Reddy's residence

State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi sends a congratulatory letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and winning candidate from Srinagar, Farooq Abdullah, dances during celebrations at party office in Jammu.

National Conference has won 2 out of the 3 seats in the valley and is leading on 1.

Delhi High Court issues notice to the Election Commission of India and the Union of India, on a petition seeking to review the political parties registered with religious, caste, ethnic or linguistic connotations and de-register them, if they fail to rename within three month.

Total seats - 14

Results declared - 14

BJP - 9

Congress - 3

AIUDF - 1

Independent - 1

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi's residence in Delhi

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader G. Parameshwara holds a meeting at his residence.

Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, KPCC Chief Dinesh Gundu Rao, MB Patil and other leaders present at the meeting.

Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets senior BJP leader LK Advani, to meet Murli Manohar Joshi later today.

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar expresses displeasure over election results in the state. 

The Congress working committee meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow, May 25.

The agenda of the meeting, according to the reports, will be the party's loss in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.

Robert Vadra, brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweets.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh likely to switch Navjot Singh Sidhu's department. 

Odisha: BJP candidate from Puri, Sambit Patra, loses by over 11,000 votes to BJD's Pinaki Misra

Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Friday retained his home turf Hinjli for a fifth consecutive term,
trouncing nearest rival and BJP nominee Pitambar Acharya from the assembly seat by 60,160 votes, according to EC sources.

The BJD supremo, who is steering his party to another emphatic victory in the state, has also established a lead of 56,000 votes in Bijepur constituency in west Odisha against Sanat Kumar Gartia of the saffron party.

The ruling BJD is all set to form a government for a fifth time in a row, with its candidates winning 89 seats and leading in 23 others out of the 146 assembly segments, the EC sources said.

This is for the first time Patnaik contested the assembly election from two seats.

Emir of Kuwait, Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, sends a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his electoral victory.

Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and PM Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar messages to PM Narendra Modi. 

YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), which swept to power in Andhra Pradesh with a landslide victory, has bagged 151 seats in 175-member Assembly. It also won 22 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats.

As counting in a couple of constituencies continued past midnight with a keen tussle between the YSRCP and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the final tally became clear early Friday.

The TDP finished a distant second with 23 Assembly and three Lok Sabha seats.

Actor Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena Party (JSP), which made the electoral debut, bagged one Assembly seat. Both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) drew blank.

In 2014, the TDP had bagged 102 seats while its then ally BJP had won four seats. The YSRCP had won 67 seats while two independents were also elected. In the simultaneous Lok Sabha polls, TDP had won 15 seats, YSRCP eight and BJP two seats.

In the results declared late Thursday night, TDP' Galla Jayadev retained Guntur Lok Sabha seat with a margin of 4,800 votes over his nearest rival M. Venugopal Reddy of the YSRCP.

TDP's Kesineni Nani and K. Rammohan Naidu also retained Vijayawada and Srikakulam Lok Sabha seats respectively after a close contest.

Final party position in Maharashtra - 

Total Lok Sabha seats: 48

BJP - 23

Shiv Sena - 18

NCP - 4

Congress - 1

AIMIM - 1

Independent - 1

US Vice President Mike Pence congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

"Congrats to an American ally and friend PM Narendra Modi, on his party’s win in India’s parliamentary elections! We look forward to continuing to work with India for a freer, safer, and more prosperous region," he says. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his massive victory. 

"I congratulate PM Narendra Modi on his re-election. I look forward to continuing to work with him to improve lives of Canadians and Indians alike through education and innovation, investing in trade and investment and fighting climate change," he says. 

Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his re-election, the United States has said that the just-concluded elections in India, the largest democratic exercise in human history, is an inspiration for people around the world.

"Congrats to an American ally and friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his party's win in India's parliamentary election," Vice President Mike Pence tweeted.

"This was a strong display of the Indian people's commitment to democracy! We look forward to continuing to work with India for a freer, safer, and more prosperous region," he said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo too took to Twitter to congratulate the prime minister.

"Congratulations to @narendramodi and the NDA for their victory in India's election, and to the Indian people for casting their votes in such historic numbers. As the world's largest exercise in democracy, #India's election is an inspiration around the world," he said.

During an off-camera gaggle with reporters, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said India's elections are the world's largest exercise in democracy, a marvel of logistics and planning with 900 million people – an eighth of the world's population – eligible to vote.

"We applaud the high turnout, estimated at around 66 per cent or roughly 600 million people, and the government of India for their excellent execution of this incredible event," Ortagus said.

Uttar Pradesh: BJP candidate Sanjeev Kumar Balyan wins Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seat.

He was fielded against Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh.

BJP candidate Sanjeev Kumar Balyan wins Muzaffarnagar

Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his election victory, a top American corporate leader has asserted that in the next five years, the PM will lay the groundwork for India's economic growth and prosperity for the next quarter century.

"Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a decisive election victory. These next five years of Prime Minister Modi's leadership will lay the groundwork for the next 25 years in terms of economic growth and prosperity for the country," John Chambers, Chairman of the Board of Directors at US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), said.

Chambers said under Modi's leadership, India will be able to increase its GDP and see economic growth and job-creation, and improve trade and foreign investment.

Out of total 32 assembly constituency seats -

Sikkim Democratic Front wins 15 seats

Sikkim Krantikari Morcha wins 17 seats

Out of total 542 Parliamentary constituency seats - 

BJP wins on 288 seats, leading on 15

Congress wins on 50 seats, leading on 2 

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters celebrate in Barcelona, Spain.

BJP supporters celebrate in Spain

Maharashtra: Shiv Sena candidates Arvind Sawant, Gajanan Kirtikar and Rahul Ramesh Shewal win Mumbai South, Mumbai North West and Mumbai South Central Lok Sabha seats respectively

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari wins Nagpur Lok Sabha seat by 2,16,009 votes; celebrations at his residence.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis also present. 

Nitin Gadkari wins Nagpur Lok Sabha seat by 2,16,009 votes

Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Kirron Kher wins Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat by 46,970 votes.

She was fielded against Congress' Pawan Kumar Bansal.

Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav win Mainpuri and Azamgarh Lok Sabha parliamentary seats respectively.

Bihar: Janata Dal (United) candidate from Katihar, Dulal Chandra Goswami defeats Congress' Tariq Anwar (in pic) by a margin of 57203 votes

Uttar Pradesh: Sonia Gandhi wins Raebareli Lok Sabha seat by 167178 votes.

Bihar: BJP candidate from Pataliputra Lok Sabha seat, Ram Kripal Yadav defeats Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Misa Bharti with a margin of 39321 votes

Bihar: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad wins Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency by 284657 votes. He was fielded against Congress' Shatrughan Sinha