The long-awaited counting day is nearly upon us! Tomorrow, the choices of the electorate will be unveiled, revealing who has been chosen to serve in the 18th Lok Sabha. The crucial question remains: Will the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secure a third consecutive term in power? Will the coalition of opposition parties, united under the banner of INDIA, pose a significant challenge to Prime Minister Modi? And will this election bring forth any unexpected developments? All these questions will be answered tomorrow as the Election Commission announces the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Months of meticulous planning and weeks of intensive campaigning will culminate in their final results on Tuesday.
The vote-counting process will commence at 8 a.m. The initial count will be of postal ballots at all counting centers. Thirty minutes into this process, the counting of votes recorded in electronic voting machines (EVMs) will begin, according to the Election Commission's schedule.
The sequence of counting will proceed as follows: first, the postal ballots, then the votes from EVMs, and finally, the verification of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips against the EVM results.
### Timeline of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections were conducted in seven phases: April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1. Voting in twenty states, including Delhi, occurred in a single phase.
In contrast, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir went to the polls in five phases. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal participated in all seven phases. Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tripura, and Manipur had two phases of voting. Chhattisgarh and Assam experienced three phases, while Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand had four phases of polling.
According to a report by PRS Legislative Research, 8,360 candidates from 744 political parties, including six nationally recognized parties, contested in 543 constituencies.
### Political Parties’ Predictions vs. Exit Polls
Leaders of the INDIA bloc have expressed strong confidence in achieving a majority. Following the conclusion of the seventh and final phase of voting on June 1, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge confidently proclaimed, "The INDIA bloc will win at least 295 seats."
However, the exit polls tell a different story. The India Today-Axis My India exit poll, along with several other exit polls, has indicated a likely third term for the BJP-led NDA. These polls suggest that the BJP, which has vigorously promoted its '400 paar' slogan, may come close to that ambitious target.
A summary of five exit polls, including the India Today-Axis My India poll, projects that the BJP-led NDA is expected to secure approximately 379 seats. The INDIA bloc, with the Congress as its primary component, is anticipated to win around 136 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
