2024 Lok Sabha Election results: The BJP, the most dominant political force in India in the past 10 years, is facing significant heat as the vote counting enters the business end. The Congress-led Opposition India bloc, who not many gave a fighting chance, has unexpectedly put up a robust challenge to the saffron party at the hustings today.
As for the smaller battles within the larger battles, if midday trends are anything to go by, many supporters may bite the dust that day. Here are some of the most prominent among them:
Smriti Irani: Union Minister Smriti Irani, a stalwart of the Bharatiya Janata Party regime in the last two governments, is having a very difficult time and things could get worse as the vote counting progresses. Recent trends show that she is far behind her rival, veteran Congressman and Gandhi family confidant K.L. Sharma.
Shashi Tharoor: Senior Congress politician Shashi Tharoor is trailing the BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar by more than 15,000 votes as of 1 pm. However, the fight between the two is an emotional rollercoaster and a quick reversal cannot be ruled out at this stage.
Omar Abdullah: In the Baramulla constituency in Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference’s Omar Abdullah had to give up a huge lead to rival independent candidate Abdul Rashid Sheikh.
Maneka Gandhi: BJP’s Maneka Gandhi was trailing Samajwadi Party’s Rambual Nishad by over 20,000 votes as of around 1.45 pm.
Arjun Munda: Bharatiya Janata Party’s Union Minister Munda from Jharkhand is trailing Congress leader Kali Charan Munda by nearly 90,000 votes.
Mehbooba Mufti: As of midday, Mehbooba Mufti of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party was trailing Mian Altaf Ahmad of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference by a huge margin of over 200,000 votes.
Rao Inderjit Singh: In Haryana’s Gurgaon constituency, BJP’s Rao Inderjit Singh is trailing Congress leader Raj Babbar by over 6,000 votes.