Lok Sabha results 2019 LIVE: BJP mauls opposition, Modi only 3rd Indian PM to return after completing full term

In a stunning electoral showing, the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Thursday set to retain power for another five years after making a sweep of the Lok Sabha battle and mauling the opposition.

So stunning was the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) showing that it bulldozed the opposition even where it had looked strong, virtually sweeping entire states in northern India and even beyond and making unprecedented inroads in Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal.

Trends from the counting centres showed that the BJP alone was set to bag 298 seats -- more than the 282 it won in 2014, catapulting Modi as Prime Minister for the first time.

Along with its allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) could end up with 343 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats where polling took place.

Congratulations poured in for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was set to be re-elected by over 2.5 lakh votes from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. BJP President Amit Shah was on the road to victory with an equally thumping margin from Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

"Our win is India's victory," remarked Amit Shah, thanking the voters for supporting the BJP and its allies.

The BJP was set to make a clean sweep of all 26 seats in Gujarat, all 25 in Congress-ruled Rajasthan, all four in Himachal Pradesh and all five in Uttarakhand.

The BJP was also on the road to victory in 28 of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 9 out of 11 in Chhattisgarh, 38 out of the 40 seats in Bihar along with its allies, 10 out of 14 in Jharkhand, 9 out of 10 in Haryana, 23 out of 26 in Karnataka, its southern bastion, 41 out of 48 in Maharashtra along with the Shiv Sena, 19 out of 42 in West Bengal, 6 out of 21 seats in Odisha and all seven seats in Delhi.

The biggest prize came in Uttar Pradesh, India's politically most critical state where the saffron party overwhelmed the SP-BSP alliance, establishing solid leads in 60 out of 80 seats, leaving the opposition gasping.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi was trailing to Union Minister Smriti Irani by 10,000 votes in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh although he was elected by a massive margin from Wayanad in Kerala.

UPA Chairperson and senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi was on the victory lap in Rae Bareli.

Sensex zoomed past 40,000 points -- a lifetime high -- as it became clear that Modi was set to retain power.

The BJP's years of efforts in West Bengal finally bore fruits as its candidates were set to emerge victorious in 19 places, washing out the once formidable Left and leaving the Congress punctured. The BJP won only two seats in 2014.

In Bihar, the BJP and the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) were on the top in 15 seats each, crushing the Grand Alliance led by the RJD.

Besides Modi and Amit Shah, the BJP leaders who were on the victory lap included Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh (Lucknow), Union Minister Giriraj Singh (Begusarai) and the aggressive Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur (Bhopal).

The TRS, which had hoped to sweep Telangana, led in 11 seats while the YSR Congress Party made a sweep of Andhra Pradesh and was also set to take power in the state.

The Congress' best news came from Punjab where it was leading in 8 of the 13 seats and in Kerala where the party-led UDF had forged ahead in 15 of the 20 seats, dealing a major blow to the Left.

And in Odisha, the BJD was on the top in 15 of the 21 seats and was also set to retain power in the state in Assembly elections.

In Tamil Nadu, the DMK-led alliance was set to win 23 of the 39 constituencies. And in Jammu and Kashmir, while former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference was set to win, PDP leader and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was trailing at the third spot in militancy-hit Anantnag.

Around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million voters exercised their franchise in the seven-phase elections that began on April 11 and ended on May 19. Election in Vellore in Tamil Nadu was countermanded by the Election Commission.

Addressesing BJP workers at the party headquarters in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the real winners of 2019 Lok Sabha elections are not parties or candidates but the people of India and the Indian Republic. I congratulate all those who have won Lok Sabha elections.

After addressing a press meet, Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to state that he accepts the verdict of the people. "I accept the verdict of the people of India. Congratulations to the winners, Mr Modi & the NDA. Thank you to the people of Wayanad for electing me as your MP. Thank you also to the people of Amethi. Thank you Congress workers & leaders for your hard work in this campaign," the Congress leader tweeted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has removed the prefix 'chowkidar' from his Twitter handle as BJP's famous 'Main bhi Chowkidar' campaign comes to an end with Modi retaining his crown. 

After he removed the campaign tag, PM Modi tweeted, "Now, the time has come to take the Chowkidar Spirit to the next level. Keep this spirit alive at every moment and continue working for India's progress. The word 'Chowkidar' goes from my Twitter name but it remains an integral part of me. Urging you all to do the same too!"

Congress President Rahul Gandhi is all set to resign from the party post after facing a humiliating defeat. Rahul Gandhi lost to BJP leader Smriti Irani from his stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

Rahul told a group of senior Congress leaders including his mother Sonia that he takes full responsibility for the election defeat and that he is willing to resign from the post of party president.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

Rahul congratulates PM Modi. Addressing the media, Rahul said, "I had said janta malik hai. I congratulate Narendra Modi ji and the BJP."

"People of India decided that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the Prime Minister," Rahul added.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan took to Twitter to congratulate his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "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," Imran Khan tweeted.

List of candidates who won 2019 Lok Sabha elections:

• BJP candidate Anantkumar Hegde has won from Uttara Kannada, Karnataka.
• BJP candidate Gopal Jee Thakur has won from Darbhanga in Bihar.
• BJP candidate Lalubhai Babubhai Patel has won from Daman & Diu.
• INC candidate D K Suresh has won from Bangalore Rural in Karnataka.
• BJP candidate, Karadi Sanganna Amarappa has won from Koppal, Karnataka.
• BJP candidate, Jigajinagi Ramesh Chandappa has won from Bijapur, Karnataka.
• BJP candidate, Y Devendrappa has won from Bellary, Karnataka.
• BJP candidate, Bhagwanth Khuba has won from Bidar, Karnataka.
• BJP candidate, B N Bache Gowda has won from Chikkballapur, Karnataka.
• BJP candidate, Nalin Kumar Kateel has won from Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka.
• BJP candidate, Akshaibar Lal has won from Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh.
• BJP candidate, Pralhad Joshi has won from Dharwad, Karnataka.

BJP leader and Union Minister Arun Jaitley took to Twitter to slam the Opposition parties stating: "Fake issues don't work. The final results point in the same direction as the exit polls. What is the accountability of those who were bringing a bad name to India's democracy both domestically and internationally by raking up the VVPAT issue?"

BJP candidate SS Ahluwalia is leading over Congress's Ranjit Mukherjee by a mere 519 votes in Burdwan Durgapur.

BJP president Amit Shah reaches party headquarters in New Delhi, gets a grand welcome as BJP supporters shower flower petals as BJP continues to dominate.

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: BJP candidates from the Deol family - Hema Malini and Sunny Deol - are leading. Hema Malini's husband and Sunny Deol's father Dharmendra campaigned for them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls Prime Minister Narendra Modi to congratulate him for returning back to power.

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: NCP chief Sharad Pawar said, "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."

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: BJP candidate and Union Minister Giriraj Singh is leading on the Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency from Bihar by over 32,000 votes. So far CPI's Kanhaiya Kumar has managed to secure just 211,536 votes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, contesting from Varanasi, took to Twitter to tweet after BJP continues to move ahead leading on over 300 Lok Sabha parliamentary constituencies. He said: "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again!"

Chinese president Xi Jinping congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: Superstar Rajinikanth has congratulated PM Modi as the BJP alone crossed the 300 mark in the Lok Sabha Election Results 2019. 

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: The BJP has managed to hold its dominance in 301 Lok Sabha seats.

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: Taking to Twitter, former IAS officer Shah Faesal congratulated PM Modi for the landslide win and said that the mandate must be respected. "Congratulations to Narendra Modi, BJP for the landslide win. The mandate must be respected. We in J&K are hopeful that tempers will be allowed to calm down. In this second term, Narendra Modi can make history by reaching out to the people of J&K. Kashmir has to heal," Faesal said.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi leaves from Congress President Rahul Gandhi's residence in Delhi. See visuals

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: The BJP has managed to continue its dominance over the country just like it did in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. As per recent trends, the BJP alone has managed to hold its dominance in 294 Lok Sabha seats. Collectively, the NDA is nearing 350 mark. It is currently leading on 343 Lok Sabha seats. UPA is just leading on just 96 seats.

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: BJP is leading in all the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi. It seems that the ruling AAP has failed to continue its dominance.

National Conference chief and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took to Twitter to congratulate Modi-Shah duo. He said, "So the exit polls were correct. All that's left is to congratulate the BJP & NDA for a stellar performance. Credit where credit is due PM Modi Sahib & Mr Amit Shah put together a winning alliance & a very professional campaign. Bring on the next five years."

Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: Early trends show the NDA leading on over 300 seats. PM Modi will reach the BJP headquarters at around 5 pm in the evening. Over 25,000 BJP workers are expected to reach the BJP headquarters.

Voters seem to have favoured BJP candidate and Union Minister Smriti Irani over Congress president Rahul Gandhi. According to the early trends in Amethi Lok Sabha seat, Rahul Gandhi is trailing by over 6,000 votes. It seems that Smriti Irani has so far secured over 37,885 votes. READ FULL REPORT HERE:

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: BJP candidate and Union Minister Smriti Irani is leading with over 7600 votes in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi.

Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: The Biju Janata Dal is ahead on 12 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha and the BJP is trailing in nine seats. As per early trends, Congress has failed to open its account in Odisha.

Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE Updates

BIHAR (40 seats): BJP -15, JDU 16, LJP - 6 , RJD -1

ANDMAN NICOBAR (1): BJP - 1

ANDHRA (25): YSRCP 24, TDP - 1

ARUNACHAL (2): BJP - 2

ASAM (14): BJP -8, AGP -2 , CONG 1 , BPF - 1 , AIUDF - 2

CHANDIGARH (1): BJP -1

CHHATISGARH (11): BJP 9, CONG 2

DADARA NAGAR HAWELI (1): IND 1

DAMAN & DIU (1): BJP 1

GOA (2): BJP 1, CONG 1

GUJARAT (26): GUJ 26

HARYANA (10): BJP 10

HIMACHAL (4): BJP 4

JAMMU KASHMIR (6): BJP 2 , IND - 2 , CONG 1 , NC 1

JHARKHAND (14): BJP 11, CONG 2 , AJSU 1

KARNATAKA (26): BJP - 23, IND 1 , CONG 3 , JDS 1

KERALA (20): CONG 16, IUML 2 , KERALA CONG 1 , RSP - 1

LAKSHDWEEP (1): CONG 1

MADHYA PRADESH (29): BJP - 28, CONG 1

MAHARASHTRA (48): BJP 23, SHIVSENA 19, NCP 5, IND 1

MANIPUR (2): BJP 1 , NPF 1

MEGHALAY (2): CONG 1 , NPF 1

MIZORAM (1): MNF 1

NAGALAND (1): NDPP 1

DELHI (7): BJP 7

ODISHA (21): BJP 7, BJD 12

PUDUCHERRY (1): CONG 1

PUNJAB (13): CONG 8 , SAD 2 , BJP 2 , AAP 1

RAJASTHAN (25): BJP 24, RLP 1

SIKKIM (1): SIKKIM KRANTI MORCH A 1

TAMILNADU (38): DMK 22, CONG 8 , AIADMK 1 , CPI 2, CPM 2 , IUML 1 , PMK 1 , VCK 1

TELANGANA (17): TRS 9, CONG 3, BJP 4 , AIMIM 1

UP (80): BJP 57, BSP 12 , SP 8, CONG 1 , APNA DAL 1 , APNA DAL SONELAL 1

UTTRAKHAND (5): BJP 5

WEST BENGAL (42): TMC - 24, BJP 17, CONG 1

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: TMC leading on 24 seats, BJP leading on 17 seats and Congress on 1 seat out of 42 seats. 

Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: Congress president Rahul Gandhi is leading by over 1 lakh votes in Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala. BJP chief Amit Shah is leading by almost 1,25,000 votes in Gandhinagar constituencies in Gujarat.

As per current trends available for 527 constituencies, BJP is leading in 282 while INC is leading in 51, DMK in 22, AITC in 22, YSRC in 24 and Shivsena in 19 constituencies.

Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: The prime minister is leading in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi Lok Sabha seat by around 41,000 votes.

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: Assam -14 seats - early trends

• BJP+ - 11
• Congress - 1
• AIUDF - 1
• Others - 1

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: The Bharatiya Janata Party is now leading in all the seven seats in Delhi while AAP and Congress have not opened their accounts in the national capital.

Lok Sabha election results Live: After gaining lead in Kerala's Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi is now ahead by over 1,000 votes in Amethi while Smriti Irani continues her struggle.

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: By over 20,000 votes from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, PM Modi is leading. Also, BJP president Amit Shah is leading by over 50,000 votes from Gujarat's Gandhinagar.

The BJP and the Congress are contesting a neck and neck battle in Uttar Pradesh. The mahagathbandhan of the SP-BSP-RLD is leading on just two seats.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has secured 18 seats. The Congress, however, is leading on nine seats. It should be noted that Congress had formed the government in both states just a few months ago.

BJP candidate Ravi Shankar Prasad leading over Congress's Shatrughan Sinha from Patna Sahib constituency.

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: As per early trends, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is leading on the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat by just 1,000 votes.

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: In West Bengal, PM Narendra Modi has now taken a lead over the Trinamool Congress's Mamata Banerjee. The BJP is leading on 14 seats, Mamata Banerjee's TMC is trailing on 13 seats. The BJP has also made big gains in Asansol and Howrah Lok Sabha 

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: PM Modi-led NDA is leading in the Lok Sabha Election 2019 as it has crossed the majority mark. The NDA is currently ahead on 283 Lok Sabha constituencies whereas the UPA has not been able to cross even touch 100. The UPA is leading on just 88 Lok Sabha seats. The other regional parties are leading on 76 seats, according to reports.

BJP candidate Sunny Deol leading from Gurdaspur, Congress's Manish Tewari leading from Anandpur Sahib and Gurjeet Singh Aujla leading from Amritsar, SAD's Harsimrat Kaur Badal leading from Bhatinda.

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar, contesting from the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat in Bihar, is trailing while BJP leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh is leading over the CPI candidate by 5,610 votes. Kanhaiya Kumar has secured a lead on 4,728 votes.

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: From the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has taken a lead in Kerala's Wayanad by 5,510 votes, he is trailing in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi Lok Sabha seat.

BJP candidate Gautam Gambhir is leading on the East Delhi Lok Sabha seat while AAP's Atishi continues to struggle.

BJP candidate and Union Minister Smriti Irani is leading by over 5,000 votes while Congress chief Rahul Gandhi struggles.

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: BJP candidate Pragya Singh Thakur leading from Bhopal, BJP candidate Anurag Thakur leading from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh.

Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: BJP has crossed the mark of 150 in the early trends. However, the Congress party managed to cross 50 Lok Sabha seats.

• NDA takes an early lead in trends
• In Assam | Congress leads: 3; AIDUF: 1
• Gujarat: BJP leads in Panchmahal
• BJP takes lead in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan

Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: Congress party president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi are leading on Amethi and Raebareli Lok Sabha constituencies.

Uttar Pradesh: Rajnath Singh, BJP leads in Lucknow.

Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE UPDATES: As per latest reports, BJP is leading in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan. BJP candidate Hema Malini is also leading from the Mathura Lok Sabha seat.

Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE UPDATES: BJP candidate has taken the first lead in Karnataka's Hassan constituency. Also, BJP leader and Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore have taken a lead in Rajasthan.

The entire process of counting will be videographed.

Key allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party said that the NDA will form the next government but the BJP, unlike in 2014, will not be able to win a parliamentary majority on its own. During an interview to a TV channel a few days back, Shiromani Akali Dal's Naresh Gujral said that no single party would get a majority in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections but also said that the NDA would get the numbers to form the next government. He had said the BJP would fall short of an absolute majority but the NDA would be able to form a stable coalition government with allies, describing described himself as a realist while making the remark.

It's time for the results of 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Election results will be declared by this evening as the counting of vote begins at 8 am. the Election Commission of India has stated that the declaration of the final results could be delayed since over 20,000 VVPATs will also be tallied with the EVMs.

The nation will get to know who will get to hold the reins of power in the world's largest democracy for the next five years. Who do you think will take over? Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi get a second consecutive time or will it be someone from the Opposition?