Election Results 2024: Modi Gets 3rd Term

The counting of votes for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections happened on June 4th. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led alliance, called the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), won around 300 seats. The opposition group, called INDIA, won over 227 seats. This was much more than what the exit polls had predicted.

What is Needed to Form the Government?

To form the government at the center, a party or alliance needs to win at least 272 out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats. Since one seat was already won by the NDA without any voting, votes were counted for the remaining 542 seats.

Narendra Modi will be the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to win three straight terms, if the NDA forms the government under his leadership.

What Did Exit Polls Say?

Most exit polls had predicted an easy victory with over 350 seats for the NDA led by PM Modi. Three major exit polls even said the NDA would get more than 400 seats. The BJP was confident of crossing the majority mark. However, the opposition INDIA group had rejected the exit poll predictions.

In 2019, exit polls had predicted around 285 seats for the NDA. But the NDA won 353 seats, with BJP alone getting 303. In 2014, the NDA was expected to win 257-340 seats, but they ended up winning 336 seats, making Modi the PM for the first time.

BSP’s Stand on Muslim Representation

After a poor performance in the elections, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) said it would carefully consider giving opportunities to Muslim candidates in future elections. The BSP felt that despite giving enough representation to Muslims earlier, they did not get adequate support from the community.

Also Read | The Fear of Coalition Government Has Returned in India

Market Reaction

The stock markets reacted negatively to the election results. The NIFTY 50 and the Sensex both fell about 6%, posting their biggest decline on an election day since 2004, when the BJP-led coalition had lost power.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, the BJP-led NDA won around 300 seats, allowing PM Modi to become the first PM after Nehru to win three straight terms. However, the opposition INDIA group performed much better than expected, crossing 227 seats. The BSP has decided to rethink its approach towards Muslim representation, and the stock markets reacted negatively to the results.