BJP falls short of majority: Who will be the kingmakers to help Modi form the govt?

In a complete turnaround from the exit poll predictions, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of the National Democratic Alliance was struggling to reach the 272-majority mark on its own, early trends of Lok Sabha elections’ vote count showed on Tuesday.

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Trends at around 4:45 pm showed that BJP's tally was 244, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempted to come back at the Centre for the third consecutive term. To stake a claim at the lower house, a party/alliance needs at least 272 seats in the 543-strong Lok Sabha.

To be sure, these are only the early trends and less than half the votes have been counted. NDA struggled in major states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, these trends showed.

Even though its early, Dalal Street showed severe apprehension at the lack of clear indication of a majority for the BJP.

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The role of senior politicians like Janata Dal (United) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, along with Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu, could prove crucial. Given their history of switching alliances between the NDA and the INDIA bloc, one may ask if these two leaders play the role of kingmakers and help the BJP soothe nerves.



The JD-U was leading in 15 of Bihar's 40 seats, while the TDP was ahead in 16 of Andhra Pradesh's 25 Lok Sabha seats. Both parties are currently aligned with the NDA, but given their history, there's always the possibility they might switch sides again.

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Nitish Kumar is the Chief Minister of Bihar, and Chandrababu Naidu is expected to win the Andhra Pradesh elections, which were held concurrently.

Overall, the BJP-led NDA was leading in approximately 297 seats, while the INDIA bloc's lead surpassed 225 seats as votes were counted across 542 constituencies on June 4.

Vote counting for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections began at 8 am. Everyone is watching to see if the exit poll predictions are accurate and if Prime Minister Narendra Modi's NDA will secure a third consecutive term.