Gujarat Election Results highlights: BJP wins 25, Cong breaks decade long jinx

The Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency in Gujarat has been a BJP stronghold for the past three decades. The seat was held by Lal Krishna Advani from 1998 to 2014, who won consecutive elections. This urban constituency includes Gandhinagar North, Ghatlodia, Sabarmati, Kalol, Vejalpur, Sanand, and Naranpura assembly seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP nominated Amit Shah, who won with 8,94,624 votes, defeating Congress candidate Chatur Singh Javanji Chavda who received 3,37,610 votes. In the previous 2014 election, Lal Krishna Advani emerged victorious with 7,73,539 votes, defeating Congress candidate Ishwarbhai Patel who got 2,90,418 votes. The constituency continues to remain a significant seat for the BJP.

Amid tight security, Gujarat is all set for counting of votes for 25 of 26 Lok Sabha constituencies at 26 counting centres across the state on Tuesday. The results are expected to be out by afternoon. The BJP, which seeks a hat trick in this Lok Sabha (LS) election, comfortably won all the 26 seats in 2014 and 2019. This time, the party has set an ambitious target of winning all the LS seats by a margin of over five lakh votes. The ruling party, however, dropped as many as 14 of its sitting MPs and replaced them with new faces.

In the 25 parliamentary constituencies of Gujarat where polling was held in the third phase of the Lok Sabha election on May 7, around 60% voting turnout was registered, as per EC. There are 265 candidates in the fray, including three Cabinet Ministers Amit Shah, Mansukh Mandaviya and Parshottam Rupala and a Minister of State Devusinh Chauhan.

There are a total of 26 constituencies in Gujarat. Ahmedabad East, Ahmedabad West, Amreli, Anand, Banaskantha, Bardoli, Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Chhota Udaipur, Dahod, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Kachchh, Kheda, Mahesana, Navsari, Panchmahal, Patan, Porbandar, Rajkot, Sabarkantha, Surat, Surendranagar, Vadodara, and Valsad.

The Election Commission of India is yet to start the counting of votes for the 18th Lok Sabha Elections 2024. There are a total of 26 constituencies in Gujarat. Incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi contested from the Vadodara constituency in 2014 which he won, resulting in his first tenure as the Prime Minister. Modi is currently contesting from Varanasi.

Congress on Sunday held a meeting with Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents amid the exit polls that predicted BJP-led NDA getting another term at the Centre with a full majority.

Addressing the meeting, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said, "Today, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi had a conversation with all our candidates and yesterday INDIA alliance leaders met at the residence of Kharge and discussions were held. Everyone believed that INDIA would not get less than 295 seats. We will face the psychological games that are being played by PM Modi and Union HM Amit Shah and we will win on 4th June. Today at 4:30 pm, a delegation of the INDIA alliance will meet the Election Commission and put forth our demands regarding the day of the counting of votes."

Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah said that the party will get a minimum of seven seats in the state.

"We are going to get a minimum of 7 seats in Assam. Our vote share in Assam is also going to increase in comparison to 2021. The effect of the INDIA alliance has been seen in Assam. After 4th June, you will get to know that we will win 50 per cent of seats in the state," Bhupen said.

If PM Modi secures a third straight term in office, he will match the feat achieved by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who is the only premier till now to have won three consecutive terms.

Jawaharlal Nehru held the position of Prime Minister for 17 years, from 1947 to 1964 making him the longest-serving prime minister in India's history.

There will be one counting centre each in 24 Lok Sabha constituencies, while the Anand Lok Sabha will have two such centres, state Chief Electoral Officer P Bharathi said in a statement.

There will be 56 counting observers, 30 election officers and 180 assistant election officers deployed during the exercise, she said.

In addition to this, 614 assistant election officers have been assigned the responsibility for postal ballots, the statement said.

A micro-observer, a counting supervisor and a counting assistant have been assigned duty at each counting table, with two micro-observers placed in the counting hall. The entire process will be videographed, Bharathi said.

The strong room will be opened in the presence of the election officer/assistant election officer, candidates or their authorised representatives and observers appointed by the Election Commission of India.

The electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be taken out roundwise and brought to the counting hall, the statement said.

The counting of votes will be held from 8 am on Tuesday at 26 centres amid three-tier security arrangements, officials said.

Elections to 25 out of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat were held in a single phase on May 7.

More than 250 candidates contested the polls which witnessed 60.13 per cent voter turnout.

A petition challenging the validity and legality of the returning officer's decision to reject the nomination of the Congress' Surat Lok Sabha candidate Nilesh Kumbhani was filed in the Gujarat High Court on Monday. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Mukesh Dalal was declared winner unopposed after Kumbhani's nomination was rejected and other candidates withdrew from the race. The election petition was filed by three voters of Surat parliamentary constituency and questions the decision of the returning officer under Section 36 of the Representation of the People Act relating to the scrutiny of the nomination form, their lawyer PS Champaneri said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Mukesh Dalal was declared an uncontested winner from Surat seat after the nomination form of the Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani was rejected over irregularities in the signature of proposers and other candidates withdrew from the fray before the polls. Polling was held for the remaining 25 seats in the third of the seven phase mammoth elections on May 7.

With hours left before the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections in the world's largest democracy, security has been heightened at multiple locations across the country with police and paramilitary forces conducting intensive patrolling.

Prime Minister Modi's home state, Gujarat, has also prepared for the vote-counting day as security forces rehearse and perform drills for the effortless conduct of D-day.

Ever wondered how Election Commission undertakes the counting process? Wonder no more. We got you covered.

Basically, as per Rule 54 A of the Conduct of Elections Rules 1961, the counting of postal ballot papers shall be started first at the Returning Officer's (RO) table.

After 30 minutes of the commencement of counting of postal ballots, the counting of votes from EVMs should be started.

The Election Commission of India will provide live updates and results on its official website. You can also check real-time updates on the Voter Helpline App will also be available for real-time updates.

The rules of counting have been defined by the Election Commission of India. Rule 51 (“Time and place for counting of votes”) of The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, which says that “returning officer shall, at least one week before the date, or the first of the dates, fixed for the poll, appoint the place or places where the counting of votes will be done and the date and time at which the counting will commence.”

According to Axis My India-India Today exit polls, BJP is expected to get around 25-26 seats, whereas INDIA bloc will get 0 to 1 seats. According to Today's Chanakya, BJP will get around 27 seats in Gujarat, while Congress-AAP alliance, i.e., INDIA Bloc will get 0 to 2 seats.

All necessary arrangements have been made for the counting of votes on Tuesday for polls to 25 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, where the BJP is looking to repeat a clean sweep while the Congress aims to stop the saffron juggernaut.

The counting of votes will be held from 8 am on Tuesday at 26 centres amid three-tier security arrangements, officials said.

Elections to 25 out of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat were held in a single phase on May 7.

More than 250 candidates contested the polls, which witnessed 60.13 per cent voter turnout.

The BJP has already drawn first blood with Mukesh Dalal winning the Surat Lok Sabha seat unopposed after the nomination of Congress' Nilesh Kumbhani was rejected over irregularities in the signature of proposers and other candidates withdrew before the polls.