New Delhi:

After the Opposition parties belonging to the INDIA bloc, Odisha’s opposition Biju Janata Dal or BJD has red-flagged the unexplainable variances in the voting figures from the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections held earlier this year. Former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s party has made it clear that they are not against Electronic Voting Machines, questioning instead the integrity of the election process.

A delegation of senior party leaders – including Amar Patnaik and Sasmit Patra — met the Chief Election Commissioner and his team in Delhi today, six months after the party suffered a massive defeat at both Lok Sabha and the state level.

The BJD, which has been ruling the state for five consecutive terms, won only 51 of the state’s 153 assembly constituencies. The BJP won 78 and in a first, came to power in the state. The party also won 20 of the state’s 21 Lok Sabha seats.

The BJD has now given a memorandum to the Election Commission asking about the discrepancies – especially why there is a huge gap between the total votes polled in a booth and the votes counted from the EVMs.

The BJD has also pointed out how the total votes polled for the Lok Sabha election was different from the number of votes cast for the assembly segments that come under it.

In a first in Odisha, the voting percentage difference between polling day turnout and the final turnout figure is 15 per cent to 30 per cent.
In Keonjhar constituency, from where Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi was contesting, the difference between voting percentage on polling day and the final percentage is 30.64 per cent.

This difference is the highest in the country — perhaps the highest ever in the country’s electoral history, the party said. 

Its leaders claimed that the discrepancy is high enough to affect the final outcome of the election and questioned how this could happen in an age of sophisticated EVMs and foolproof telecom network. 

“We filed an application with the Chief Election Officer of Odisha two months ago, asking them to provide us the Form 17 data. We have requested the Commission to clarify the discrepancies,” said senior party leader Amar Patnaik.

“We are not questioning the EVM, we are questioning the Election process in which the EVM is a component,” he added. 

Unlike the Congress, the party, he added, has not taken any call on the ballot box.  “The Election Commission has assured us that it would look into the matter and action will be taken if any discrepancies are found. The Commission, however, has not given any timeline for its response.

First, a disclosure. One of the authors of the book India on the Move is a friend I have known and admired for years. I urge you to keep that in mind while reading this review.

The book is an honest attempt to make sense of the multi-layered 2024 Lok Sabha verdict. It does so in a way few others have attempted to decipher elections thus far: Through WhatsApp group chats, by examining the issues that unified and polarized the country, through long and arduous train journeys, and through conversations with some of the most prominent figures in Indian politics, among other methods.

In that sense, the book is a collection of impressions drawn from real events as they unfolded. As master chroniclers of our time, the authors must be commended for not imposing their biases and prejudices on their written words. That is no mean achievement considering the polarised world we are living in.

A few lines from the book are worth highlighting here. “While JNU catalysed a resurgence of nationalist discourse in India, it concurrently sowed seeds of discord among the youth, whose disillusionment would manifest in subsequent political landscapes,” the authors observe, referring to a series of events at India’s premier Jawaharlal University, which eventually contributed to the emergence of contrasting narratives.

Let’s consider another passage: “While the virus tested the robustness and contingencies of the country’s healthcare systems, the fear of the virus also amplified existing prejudices at a time when the nation needed to fight a common enemy,” the authors argue, reflecting on the Covid pandemic, which tested our bodies and nerves like few other events in recent decades.

There are chapters, and then there are unique phrases. Here are some chapter titles from the book: When a Deadly Virus Meets Viral Nationalism, Nationalism Goes Global, Of Ideology and Semantics, New Parliament and New Names, Political Tricolour and Soft Hindutva, and Popular Culture: The New Battleground. My favourite remains the one dealing with multiple discourses during the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors are spot-on when they observe that “the new plan of benevolent statesmanship linked with nationalism has now become an inevitable part of politics”.

My own take is that while the 2024 verdict leaned more toward benevolent statesmanship, the element of macho nationalism was somewhat missing. It seemed like a collection of several state elections. While West Bengal voted one way, neighbouring Bihar went the opposite. The verdict in Uttar Pradesh was full of surprises, and the people of Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Rajasthan chose to punish some and reward others.

One theme that stood out was that people did not appreciate any political party taking them for granted. “Logon ne aukat dikha di” (people showed a mirror to all), as a friend said the day the Lok Sabha election results were announced.

The book delves into the multiplicity of the 2024 Lok Sabha verdict. Instead of a single meta-narrative, there were several at play—some cancelling each other out, and some reinforcing one another.

My editor-in-chief beautifully captured the pattern here: “It is a multi-layered verdict—the beauty of the India we know and have grown up in. The 2024 mandate is like a rainbow whose colours politicians will have to work hard to decipher. And decipher they must, with humility and passion, not dismissively. This verdict signals a triumph of individualism.”

(The author is Consulting Editor, NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

A former MLA from Andhra Pradesh has been arrested for allegedly damaging an Electronic Voting Machine unit during the elections in the state. Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy, then MLA from YSR Congress, was arrested after the Andhra Pradesh High Court turned down his appeal for pre-arrest bail.

While hearing his appeal, the High Court said those entrusted with public office are expected to uphold exemplary standards of conduct.

The Election Commission had considered the incident not just a criminal act “but also an egregious attack on the democratic process,” and decided to take exemplary action, the Commission said in a statement.

On May 13, around 12.30 pm, Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy — who was the sitting MLA from Macherla assembly constituency — had entered a polling station with his supporters and vandalized an EVM and VVPAT machine. The incident was recorded in the web camera installed by the election authorities. The polling station was considered a critical polling station. Several incidents of violence were reported from the constituency the same day, with his direct and indirect involvement, the police said.

“EVMs are central to ensuring free and fair elections, which are the cornerstone of any democracy. Damaging these machines undermines the integrity of the electoral process, potentially disenfranchising voters and casting doubt on the legitimacy of the election results,” the Commission had said.

Deciding to take exemplary action, the Commission had ordered the arrest of the MLA.

A case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, and the Representation of the Peoples Act 1951.

By that time Mr Reddy was on the run and was located only after he approached the court for bail to prevent arrest.

New Delhi:

The 18th Lok Sabha convened today, where 280 first-time MPs are set to take oath. The momentous occasion elicited a medley of reactions from them — goosebumps to nervousness and everything in between. NDTV spoke to six new MPs. Here’s what they had to say:

T Krishna Prasad from Bapatla (Telugu Desam Party)

“When I entered the Lok Sabha for the first time today, I was getting goosebumps,” said T Krishna Prasad, a former IPS officer who won the battle for Bapatla from Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party.

“It was a very different experience… I had never thought that I would become a Lok Sabha MP. I want to work for the welfare of the people on a larger scale. I will do it as a Lok Sabha MP,” he added.

“I was the Director General of Police of Telangana. During my tenure as DGP, I realised that I had to work in public service and this should be done actively. That is why I have joined politics,” said the MP who ran an NGO that donated critical equipment at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The former Telangana-cadre IPS officer who retired in 2022, had initially joined the BJP but switched to TDP ahead of the election.

Manish Jaiswal from Hazaribagh (BJP)

First-time BJP MP Manish Jaiswal from Hazaribagh Sadar found his first day in Lok Sabha an intensely emotional one. “My father was also in politics… today when I entered the Lok Sabha for the first time, I felt that my father’s wish had been fulfilled,” he told NDTV.

Mr Jaiswal, a two-time MLA, had replaced the BJP’s sitting MP and former minster Jayant Sinha from the seat. Mr Sinha is the son of former BJP stalwart Yashwant Sinha, who was a minister in the government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In their absence, their family borough Hazaribagh saw a contest between two candidates from Other Backward Classes — Mr Jaiswal and Congress’s Jai Prakash Bhai Patel.  

“There is a lot of backwardness and poverty in the villages of Hazaribagh. There has been a lot of displacement there. I will strongly put forward the need for development there in the Lok Sabha,” he told NDTV.

Harender Mallik from Muzaffarnagar (Samajwadi Party)

The first visit to the Lok Sabha was an intense reminder of his responsibilities for Harendra Mallik, the General Secretary of Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party.  

“I felt very good.. (but) I realized that sitting here that I have to live up to the expectations of my supporters according to the policies of my party… I realized that I have to discharge these responsibilities,” he told NDTV.

Outlining his priorities, Mr Mallik said he wants to focus on education, health and employment. “These three basic facilities should be provided. Education in schools should be cheap, irrigation should also be cheap… this is what I want,” he said.

On his wishlist was one other thing. “Rapid rail should reach Muzaffarnagar. I will raise these issues in the Lok Sabha,” said the new MP, who has acquired a reputation after defeating Union Minister and BJP’s prominent Jat leader Sanjeev Balyan to win the seat.

Lakshmikant alias Pappu Nishad from Sant Kabir Nagar (Samajwadi Party)

Development is high on agenda of another first-time MP from Uttar Pradesh as well. “My parliamentary area is quite backward,” said former Uttar Pradesh minister Lakshmikant Pappu Nishad.

There are very few basic facilities like roads, water, electricity in Sant Kabir Nagar. “My priority will be to put the aspirations of people, my supporters, before the Lok Sabha,” said Mr Nishad, who handled the Fertilisers and Logistics departments in the state government led by Akhilesh Yadav.

Raj Kumar Sangwan from Baghpat, BJP

The BJP’s new MP from Baghpat, just a few hours away from the national capital, is also focused on his constituency, although he said he “felt really good’ on his first day in Lok Sabha and “made many new friends, met many old friends”.

Despite being very close to Delhi, Baghpat is a backward area, whereas Sonipat and other districts of Haryana adjacent to it have progressed a lot,” he said.

“My priority will be to build new roads to connect Baghpat with big cities, provide better education and health facilities and create new employment opportunities for the youth. Raise issues like these in the Lok Sabha,” he added.

Manoj Kumar from Sasaram (Congress)

For this Congress MP, Day One in Lok Sabha was a “historic” occasion.
“Today I went to the Lok Sabha for the first time… it was a very good experience,” said Manoj Kumar, the MP from Bihar’s Sasaram.

The 40-year-old has been second-time lucky. He had contested in 2019 from Mayawati’s BSP, but could not dislodge the BJP’s Chedi Paswan. This time, in the contest against the BJP’s new candidate Shivesh Kumar, he won by a little over 19,000 votes.  

Mr Kumar said unemployment remains the biggest issue for him. “Employment for the youth and development of Sasaram parliamentary constituency will be my priority… I want to make the hill in Kaimur a tourist spot,” he added.

New Delhi:

The BJP has ruled out any change in its leadership in Maharashtra, where the party had its second worst setback after Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections. “There will be no change in leadership in Maharashtra,” Union Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters this evening after key leaders of the Maharashtra unit met party chief JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The BJP won just nine seats in Maharashtra in the recent Lok Sabha elections, down from its 2019 tally of 23.

The tally was seen as a manifestation of the people’s disapproval of the political shake-up over the last few years and the BJP’s role in it.

The tremors had started with Uddhav Thackeray’s breaking ranks with the NDA and joining hands with Sharad Pawar and the Congress after the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

But before the newly formed Maha Vikas Aghadi could stake claim to form government, Devendra Fadnavis made an attempt to form government with the help of Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar and a few of his loyalists.

Three years later, the Shiv Sena split, pulling down the MVA government, and rebel leader Eknath Shinde formed government with the BJP, and became the Chief Minister.  He had subsequently let slip that the plan was formed with the help of the BJP.

It was followed by the split in the NCP. In both cases, the Election Commission awarded the party name and symbol to the rebels.

The verdict made the people’s disapproval clear. Both Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar’s NCP won a huge mandate, and the Congress too benefited.

In 2019, the BJP – allied with the undivided Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray – won 23 of 25 Lok Sabha seats it contested in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena contested 23 and won 18. This time, the BJP won just nine seats. Its allies — the splinter units of the Sena led by Eknath Shinde and NCP led by Ajit Pawar — won eight of the 19 seats they contested.

New Delhi:

Lok Sabha election over, both Opposition INDIA bloc and the ruling BJP knocked at the doors of the Election Commission today in tit-for-tat moves. While the Opposition asked the Commission to ensure that all guidelines are followed during Tuesday’s counting, the BJP warned the poll body against “coordinated attempts” by the Opposition to “undermine the integrity” of the electoral process.

“They (the Opposition) are directly attacking the Democratic institutions and pose a threat to the electoral process,” read the letter from the BJP, signed by Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal.

Accusing the Opposition of working according to a plan that first discredits institutions and then the electoral process, the BJP mentioned the recent hearing on Electronic Voting Machines in the Supreme Court.

“They have a clear pattern, 1st they target the institution then they target the process and methods of the Institution and then if the judgement goes against then they’ll raise questions and cases on the elections process, EVM and VVPATS,” the letter read. “When they are losing an election they are looking for a scapegoat and looking to justify the loss and they don’t want to accept the reality of who the voters choose,” it added.

The top court, the BJP pointed out, has rejected the appeal for a return to ballot papers, with some strong comments.

Earlier today, the Congress said this was the third time they were meeting the Commission during the election. Among other things, the parties flagged the issue of ensuring security to the Electronic Voting Machines and VVPATs (Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail machines).

They have urged officials to ensure that the control units of the EVMs are moved through CCTV-monitored corridors and verify the current date-and-time display of the control units.

“This verification is important because unless it is done, there is no authenticity that it is the same control unit that came from the polling booth, that it has not been changed,” said CPM’s Sitaram Yechury.

The Opposition parties have also underscored the need for election officials to stick to the guidelines during counting. The letter was sent to the Commission after a 2.5-hour meet of the INDIA bloc yesterday, focusing on a strategy for the counting day.

The Opposition’s frequently flagged concerns about the EVMs have been brushed aside by the Supreme Cour last month. While the court gave a massive vote-of-confidence to EVM machines, the landmark judgment also included a precautionary measure — the sealing of a crucial part of VVPAT machines and enabling the first and second runners-up in an election to challenge the outcome without going to court.

Last month, the Opposition had also flagged an instance where CCTV cameras at the spot where Electronic Voting machines were stored for the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, was switched off for 45 minutes.

The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) alleged that it was “suspicious’ and demanded an explanation from the Election Commission. The Returning Officer for the constituency said only the “display was temporarily closed”, but cited no reason for it.

New Delhi:

The Election Commission has arranged for massive security during counting and after, for two states that have made headlines with poll-related violence. Central forces will be stationed Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal for 15 days after the votes are counted on Tuesday, sources said. Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh have been provided with security forces for two days after the counting day.

Sources in the Commission told NDTV that the poll body will be tough on post-poll violence. The provision of troops has been made on the basis of an assessment provided by the states and Central observers.

The Commission’s decision came as the long-drawn seven-phase election concluded this evening. Even today, violence in Bengal made headlines.

In South 24 Parganas district, an angry mob forced its way into polling stations, seized an EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) and threw it in a nearby pond after some polling agents were allegedly barred from entering the booths.  Clashes were reported from the heart of Kolkata too — Satuliya area in Bhangar within the Jadavpur constituency. Several people were injured in the confrontation between the Indian Secular Front (ISF) and CPI(M).

Sandeshkhali under Basirhat Lok Sabha — which was a running theme for the BJP in this election after allegations of sexual exploitation against the  local Trinamool leader — also witnessed violence that started on Friday night and continued till after polling started in the morning.

Diamond Harbour, the stronghold of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, saw clashes between TMC and BJP supporters.

In Andhra Pradesh, clashes between workers of Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party and the ruling YSR Congress made headlines on the second phase of polling in May.  

With exit polls predicting advantage for the BJP and NDA in both states, calm could prove elusive.

New Delhi:

A historic third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi — that’s what exit polls are predicting as the seventh and the last phase of Lok Sabha election concluded this evening. None, though, have yet carried the NDA across its dream score of 400 of 543 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP, too, has been placed far short of its 370-seat target. The INDIA bloc, five exit polls predicted, will fall massively short of the 285 seats predicted by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge this evening.

An aggregate of six exit polls indicates that the NDA will get 367 seats, the INDIA bloc will get 143 seats. The BJP’s individual score will be 327 seats, the Congress, 52.

The maximum number of seats predicted for the NDA was 362-392, in the exit poll by Jan ki Baat. It predicts the Opposition bloc will get 141-161 seats.

It is followed by India News-D Dynamics, which is predicting that the NDA will get 371 seats and INDIA 125 seats.

The lowest score for the NDA comes from Dainik Bhaskar — 281-350, and a corresponding higher score for the INDIA bloc, 145-201 seats.

Exit polls do not always get it right.

All exit polls, though, are unanimous about NDA’s improved performance in the south and in Bengal. In Andhra Pradesh, the alliance with Chandrababu Naidu paid off, they predict, with the NDA expected to get 18 of the state’s 25 seats.

Karnataka is also expected to vote overwhelmingly for the BJP, despite its preference for the Congress at the state level.

In Bengal, the BJP is expected to push up its 2019 score of 18 seats to 22.

Change, though, is expected in Bihar, which had given 39 of its 40 seats to the NDA in the last election. The Opposition alliance, spearheaded by Tejashwi Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, is expected to prise off 7 seats.

New Delhi:
The long-drawn 7-phase election in the world’s largest democracy — in which the BJP is hoping for a historic third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi — comes to a close today, with voting on 57 seats. The counting will take place on Tuesday.

Here are the Top 10 points in this big story:

New Delhi:

The Congress’s decision to skip exit poll debates has provided fresh ammunition to the BJP ahead of the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha election, in which the party is hoping for a historic third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After the announcement by senior Congress leader Pawan Khera, both BJP chief JP Nadda and the party’s chief strategist and Union Minister Amit Shah said it was obvious that the Opposition has conceded defeat.

In a Hindi post on X, formerly Twitter,                     Amit Shah said, “Congress has come to know about its huge defeat, so with what face will it face the media and the public now? Therefore, Congress is running away from the exit polls. I want to tell the Congress party not to run away, face the defeat and introspect”.

कांग्रेस को अपनी प्रचंड हार का पता चल गया है, तो अब किस मुँह से मीडिया और जनता को फेस करे? इसलिए, कांग्रेस एग्जिट पोल से भाग रही है।

मैं कांग्रेस पार्टी से कहना चाहता हूँ कि भागो नहीं, हार का सामना करके आत्मचिंतन करो। pic.twitter.com/pxeT3Qw8wA

— Amit Shah (Modi Ka Parivar) (@AmitShah) May 31, 2024

Objecting to Congress decision, Mr Nadda, in a post on X, said: “It doesn’t behove India’s Grand Old Party to behave like a child, whose toy has been taken away. One expects a certain level of maturity from the largest political party in the Opposition”.

The Congress, he said, “opts out” when it doesn’t expect the results to go in its favour. But the party, he added, shows up if it thinks it has even an outside chance.

“Their hypocrisy is not lost on anyone. Let no one in Phase 7 waste their votes on them,” he said

He also said that by boycotting exit polls, the Congress was questioning the rigorous exercise carried out by several professional agencies that work day and night to compile the figures.

Earlier today, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said once the voting is over, nothing can be  gained through speculation.

“The results will be out on 4th June. Prior to that, we do not see any reason to indulge in speculation and slugfest for TRP,” he said in a statement shared on X.

“The Indian National Congress will not participate in the debates on Exit Polls. The purpose of any debate should be to inform the people. We will happily partake in debates 4th June onwards,” Mr Khera added.

Voting will be held tomorrow to pick representatives for 57 seats across seven states and one Union Territory, which would conclude the massive seven-phase exercise to form the 19th Lok Sabha. The counting of votes will take place on Tuesday.