As the initial counting commenced in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the INDIA bloc, anchored by the Congress party, displayed a promising surge compared to its underwhelming performance in 2019.
At 1 pm, the NDA coalition led by the BJP had secured a tentative lead in 289 constituencies, while the INDIA bloc stood at 236 seats, indicating a potential shift in political dynamics.
In a significant departure from the previous election, the Congress, which had garnered a mere 52 seats in 2019, emerged as a formidable force, with early results showing its dominance in 97 parliamentary constituencies.
In the previous election, the BJP had registered a landslide victory, securing 303 seats, comfortably surpassing the majority mark of 272, with a vote share of 37.36%. The Congress, on the other hand, had managed to secure only 19.5% of the total votes.
However, the vote share analysis at 1 pm painted a different picture, with the NDA garnering 46% of the total votes polled, while the INDIA bloc trailed closely with 42%.
Strikingly, the NDA, led by the BJP, registered a strike rate of 53%, while the INDIA bloc stood at 43%, indicating a more competitive electoral landscape.
The INDIA bloc's performance was particularly impressive in Uttar Pradesh, where it engaged in a close contest with the BJP-RLD alliance. As of 1 pm, the alliance led by the Congress and Samajwadi Party held a slight edge, claiming 43 seats, while the BJP-RLD alliance held 36. In the 2019 election, the BJP had triumphed in Uttar Pradesh with 62 out of 80 seats, while the Samajwadi Party won only five and the Congress was restricted to one seat.
