NEW DELHI : As the counting for the Lok Sabha polls 2024 is underway, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday launched a sharp attack at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and claimed that the latter would not even cross the 303-mark.
“They (NDA) will not even cross the mark of 303 Lok Sabha seats…Exit polls were looking like a uniform exit poll..” Sibal said while addressing the media here in the national capital.
Further, the MP appealed to the counting agents not to issue “certificates of victory” till the counting concludes.
“I request the counting agents to not issue certificates of victory till the counting of votes gets complete…The counting of postal ballots should take place before the penultimate round…I request the Election Commission of India to constantly update the numbers,” he stated.
As per the latest trends by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the NDA is leading on 295 seats and the INDIA bloc is ahead on 232 seats while others are leading on 17 seats out of 543.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is eyeing a third straight term in power, while the Opposition under the umbrella of the INDIA bloc is seeking to wrest power from the ruling party.
Most exit polls predicted a straight term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with quite a few of them projecting a two-thirds majority for the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The Congress party and its allies dismissed the exit polls as “orchestrated” and a work of “fantasy”, asserting that the opposition INDIA bloc will form the next government at the Centre.
Strict security has been put in place for the smooth conduct of counting of votes for over 8,000 candidates in this general election.
Two polls predicted the BJP would also improve its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In the 2019 elections, NDA wrested 353 seats, of which the BJP won 303 alone. The Opposition’s UPA got only 93 seats of which the Congress got 52.
Even before the counting of the votes, the Bharatiya Janata Party won one seat of Surat Lok Sabha.
The Lok Sabha elections were held across the country in seven phases from April 19 to June 1. (ANI)