From UP, Bengal jolt for BJP to regional parties' resurgence: 10 takeaways from Lok Sabha elections

The Congress-led INDIA bloc's resurgence in Hindi heartland states appears to have thwarted the BJP's ambitious plan to achieve a two-third majority in the Lok Sabha. In a stunning reversal of fortune, the beleaguered Opposition's alliance – completely written off by the exit polls -- is expected to score an impressive tally of around 230 seats.

The INDIA allies are short of the majority mark. However, the coalition, fraught with internal contradictions and lack of unity on some occasions, have reportedly sent feelers to Nitish Kumar, N Chandrababu Naidu and Eknath Shinde, showing its intention to stop the single-largest party, BJP, from forming its third successive government at the Centre.

For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, the situation is not as grim as their opponents claim. The NDA will comfortably achieve a simple majority in the Lok Sabha, ensuring a third successive term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

However, the uneasy victory came along with some concerning developments.

The BJP, which had been successful in making Uttar Pradesh its electoral citadel, appears to have ceded ground to the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance. Per current trends, the INDIA bloc will edge out the NDA, which hadn't lost any major elections in the most populous state of the country since 2014.

Another cause for concern for the BJP is that it couldn't build upon its stunning success in West Bengal in the 2019 general elections. If poll trends continue, the Trinamool will win over 30 seats out of the state's 42.

Here are 10 points on the Lok Sabha election results:

1. In Uttar Pradesh, per trends, Samajwadi Party may end up as the single-largest party. The Samajwadi Party was marching ahead in 35 seats and the Congress in seven, according to the trends, leaving the BJP with less than 40 seats. In 2014 and 2019, the party had won 71 and 62 Lok Sabha seats.
2. The INDIA alliance also made significant gains in Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar and Jharkhand but could not spring a surprise in Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh.
3. In Rajasthan, BJP was ahead in 14 seats, while Congress was leading in eight while CPI(M), Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and Bharatiya Adivasi Party were ahead in one seat each. The BJP had won all the 25 seats in the 2019 polls.
4. In Bihar, the NDA was leading in 31 seats. The INDIA bloc was ahead in eight seats -- Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in four seats, Congress in two seats, CPI(ML) in two seats. In 2019, the NDA won 39 out of 40 seats in Bihar.
5. Haryana was witnessing a neck and neck between the Congress and BJP -- both were ahead in five seats. The BJP had won all 10 seats in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In Jharkhand, INDIA bloc allies Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) were ahead in three and two seats respectively while BJP was leading in eight seats.
6. Like in 2019, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) continued its dominance in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Chhattisgarh The BJP was ahead in all 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, all four seats in Himachal Pradesh, all seven in Delhi and all five in Uttarakhand. In Chhattisgarh, the BJP was ahead in 10 out of 11 seats.
7. In PM Modi's home state Gujarat, BJP was leading in 24 of 25 Lok Sabha seats. In the Banaskantha constituency, Congress's Geniben Thakor has won.
8. In Maharashtra, the INDIA bloc was leading in 28 seats, while the BJP-led alliance was leading in 17 seats. BJP was leading in 13 seats, Congress 11 , Shiv Sena (UBT) 11, NCP (Shared Pawar) in 6 seats, Shiv Sena (Shinde) in 5 seats.
9. In Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-Congress combine ruled to roost; they were ahead in 30 seats. The Communist Party of India was ahead in two seats, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on two seats and Pattali Makkal Katchi, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Indian Union Muslim League was leading in one seat each.
10. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed on Tuesday that Prime Minister has lost the moral right to rule. They demanded his resignation.