Live Congress Election Results 2019: Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Amethi and Wayanad
With a little over half of the votes counted, the Congress gets 93 seats giving the PM Modi-led NDA 344 seats, a number higher than that of 2014. The Congress is ahead in Punjab and Tamil Nadu, where it joined hands with the DMK. Party chief Rahul Gandhi is leading in Kerala's Wayanad, however in Congress bastion Amethi, Rahul Gandhi conceded defeat to BJP leader Smriti Irani. UPA chairman Sonia Gandhi continues to maintain a comfortable lead in her Rae Bareli.
The Indian National Congress in the 2014 general election won just 44 seats in the Lok Sabha as the BJP became the first party in decades to get a full majority. This year, the ruling BJP is confident of yet another win as exit polls point to a thumping victory for the party. The Congress is not disheartened even though the exit polls predicted just 122 seats for the party and its allies. Party chief Rahul Gandhi had called the exit polls "fake" and urged his partymen to be alert ahead of the results. Election Results will be out by late evening.
Priyanka Gandhi too in a similar message to party workers said that they should not fall for "rumours" intended to make them drop their guard ahead of the counting of votes.
Congress joined hands with a number of opposition parties as they look to improve its count this time.
Rahul Gandhi is contesting elections from two seats this time, one from his home turf Amethi and from Kerala's Wayanad.
The results today will determine if the party can prove the exit polls to be wrong to form the government at the Centre ousting the largest political party in the world.
Counting of votes is underway and the Election Commission has said the final results will be in only by late evening.
Here are the Live Updates on Congress Lok Sabha Results News 2019:
Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia accepted defeat, saying that he respects the people's mandate
"We congratulate Modi ji and the BJP government. I hope the Modi government works on people's demands," Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath said, adding that he respects the results and that the party will examine the reasons for their failure
"I take a bow to the mandate of the people of India... Voice of the people is the voice of God. Congratulations to the Bharatiya Janata Party!" Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu tweeted
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said reports of Rahul Gandhi handing in his resignation were incorrect
"We accept people's verdict and congratulate PM Modi and BJP workers": Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
"Love never loses, and I am certain that we will emerge stronger and work better... love will guide us," Rahul Gandhi said
"I want to tell all my workers to stay stable 'ghabrao mat, daro mat' (don't worry, don't be afraid)": Rahul Gandhi
"I want to congratulate Smriti Irani, I respect people's mandate and want to request her to look after Amethi with care and love," Rahul Gandhi said
"Frankly, today is the not the day to discuss what I think went wrong because people of India have clearly decided that Narendra Modi is going to be their Prime Minister and as an Indian I respect that": Rahul Gandhi
The public has made its decision, Rahul Gandhi said. "I would like to congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the Congress chief said
Rahul Gandhi is addressing a press conference
2019 Election Results: What's happening in Tamil Nadu
The DMK-Congress alliance on Thursday led in a whopping 36 of the 38 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu, dealing a major blow to the ruling AIADMK and its allies.
Prominent candidates of DMK and its allies like the Congress, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India (CPI) and others were leading over their rivals belonging to the AIADMK-led alliance across the state, Election Commission officials said.
As per the trends available from the counting centres, the DMK was leading in 21 places, the Congress in 8, CPI-M and CPI and VCK in two each and IUML in one seat.
The MDMK, KMDK and IJK contested under DMK's "rising sun" symbol. On its own, the DMK was leading in 18 seats.
Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha seats. The Election Commission had rescinded the poll in Vellore on the grounds of money play by the DMK candidate.
Sonia Gandhi continues to maintain a comfortable lead in Rae Bareli with over 3 lakh votes. Her son and party chief Rahul Gandhi is however trailing in Amethi - the party's bastion against Smriti Irani.
In Tamil Nadu, where the Congress and its ally DMK, continue to maintain a good lead in several seats across the state.
General Election Results 2019: What's Happening In Kerala
At a time when the Congress is performing poorly across most states, the Congress-led UDF alliance seems to be sweeping Kerala. The UDF is consistently leading in 19 seats out of 20.
Congress wins Manohar Parrikar's Assembly Seat In Goa
The Congress won the Panaji assembly seat in Goa, held by the BJP for 25 years. Congress candidate Atanasio Monserratte won the bypoll.
The Panaji assembly bypoll was necessitated due to the death of sitting legislator and former chief minister Manohar Parrikar in March.
"All Losers Are Not Losers": Mamata Banerjee Amid BJP's Big Bengal Show : Read full story
here.
As the BJP headed for a landslide victory and a second term riding on a stunning performance in states like Bengal, Mamata Banerjee said: "Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers."
General Election Results 2019: Rahul Gandhi Expected At Congress Office This Evening
Congress President Rahul Gandhi is expected to make a statement at the Congress office between 4 pm and 4:30 pm.
While the party chief is leading in Kerala's Wayanad seat, he is trailing against Smriti Irani in Congress' bastion Amethi.
Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi tweeted reacting to the landslide win by his party and used his popular slogan -- "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas
Punjab Election results 2019: "Sunil ji is a fine candidate, he had done a lot of work. This is one thing I didn't understand...people gave preference to an actor and not an experienced leader": Amarinder Singh on Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar trailing in Gurdaspur (ANI)
The Punjab chief Minister also thanked people for their support and for standing by them and helping them register a good victory in the state.
Congress' Shashi Tharoor congratulated party workers in Thiruvananthapuram where the veteran leader is leading.
Mr Tharoor contested for a third term from Thiruvananthapuram and his main rivals in this seat are BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan the Left Democratic Front's (LDF) C Divakaran.
"Credit where credit is due": Opposition congratulates PM Modi and Amit Shah on the BJP led NDA's massive victory
The breakdown of seats that Congress and its allies are leading in:
Election results 2019: Post Balakot, Opposition lost most of its steamWho can say what would've happened if Balakot had not happened. But it is the truth that post-Balakot opposition lost most of its steam. There are many issues we can discuss on. If 'Chowkidar chor hai' was a right slogan, if it was right to focus on Rafale -- Omar Abdullah, National Conference
Congress Election Results 2019 LIVE: Highlights
Congress leading in Goa in one seat, BJP also leading in one.
Smriti Irani leading in Amethi as Rahul Gandhi trails.
Election Results 2019: Congress office wears deserted look
The Congress headquarters in the capital wore a deserted look on Thursday with counting trends showing only a marginal improvement in the partys tally from the previous Lok Sabha elections.
Senior party leaders were conspicuous by their absence as the trends showed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead on 298 seats while the cCongress was leading in 52 seats, as per the Election Commission website. Congress spokespersons present at the party headquarters were also keen to know the trends to firm up before giving their opinion.
Some Congress workers who gathered outside the party office blamed the results trends on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). They also held a protest carrying placards demanding that EVMs should not be used in elections.
Earlier in the morning, some party workers performed a "havan" outside the party office, praying that the day will bring good results for the party.
However, the party leaders were taken aback by the trends as they were expecting a minimum of 100 seats.
Congress leader Gaurav Vallabh said the party fought the Lok Sabha elections on issues which affected the common man and focused on development matters.
"Let us wait for the final results," he said.
Lok Sabha Election Results Live 2019: Congress Heavyweights
Congress Election Results 2019 LIVE: Congress Candidates Trailing, Leading
Shashi Tharoor shares updates on his lead in Thiruvananthapuram
Congress Election Results 2019 LIVE: Congress Heavyweights In Leads, Trails
Rahul Gandhi's decisions led to divisions within the Opposition: CPIDecisions taken by Rahul Gandhi led to divisions within the opposition, CPI national secretary Atul Kumar Anjaan said Thursday and asserted that the policies of the Congress scion opened the doors for Narendra Modi's victory.
Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power Thursday as it led in 292 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 50, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls.
"The BJP fought these elections on the basis of social and religious divisive policies and the agenda was set by them on this basis.
"But more significant is the fact that the unity of the opposition has been damaged by the Congress. The policies and decisions of Rahul Gandhi has weakened opposition unity, led to divisions and opened the doors for Modi's victory," the Communist Party of India national secretary said.
If the trends stay until final results, the BJP would have improved on its 2014 performance when it had won 282 seats on its own in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Adding the seats won by its allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance could win 343 seats, up from 336 in 2014.
WATCH |"Congress was fighting for revival, not survival": KC Tyagi, JDU
Congress LOK SABHA ELECTION RESULTS: Trends at 12.27pm
Election Results 2019: Statewise Breakup of Congress+ leads (SOUTH INDIA)Andhra Pradesh- Contesting in 25 seats, leading in 0.
Kerala- Contesting in 19 seats, leading in 17.
Tamil Nadu- Contesting in 34, leading in 31.
Telangana- Contesting in 17, leading in 4.
Karnataka- Contesting in 28, leading in 4.
Election Results 2019: Trends at 11:56 am
Election Results 2019 LIVE: Poonam Mahajan Leading in Mumbai North-CentralCongress's Priya Dutt is trailing Poonam Mahajan in Mumbai north-central
BJP Takes Big Lead In Karnataka, Congress-JDS Stares At CollapseThe BJP
has taken a huge lead in the national election in Karnataka over the Congress and Janata Dal Secular alliance, which took power in the state exactly a year ago. The BJP was ahead in 23 of the state's 28 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress and JDS was ahead in only five in early leads.
Among the prominent candidates, Tejasvi Surya of the BJP, is leading from Bangalore South constituency against the Congress's B.K Hariprasad.
The JDS-Congress coalition appeared to be heading for a disastrous showing in the state after months of internal bickering and strain.
Congress Election Results 2019 LIVE: Tally of seats 2014 vs 2019
Congress Election Results 2019 LIVE: Tally of BJP, Congress, Non-Aligned
Congress Election Results 2019 LIVE: Current leads show Congress trailing
Congress Results LIVE 2019: Congress leads in Kerala
Congress is leading in Kerala in 18 seats, Left trailing behind with 2 seats.
Congress Results LIVE 2019: Pragya Thakur leads over Congress's Digvijaya Singh in BhopalPragya Singh Thakur -- the saffron robed woman long known for her alleged involvement in the Malegaon blasts -- is leading in Bhopal over the Congress's Digvijaya Singh as votes are being counted in the Lok Sabha elections today.
Congress Election Results 2019 LIVE: Congress Candidates Leading:Sushmita Dev from Silchar, Meira Kumar from Sasaram, Ashok Chavan from Nanded, Preneet Kaur from Patiala, Karti Chidambaram from Sivaganga, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from Berhampore.
Congress Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE: Rahul Gandhi leading in Wayanad
Congress president Rahul Gandhi is leading in Wayanad constituency in Kerala by 10,910
votes against CPI's C P Suneer, according to the Election Commission.
Congress Election Results 2019 LIVE: Congress Candidates Leading:Tariq Anwar is leading from Katihar, Deepender Singh Hooda from Rohtak, Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram, Manish Tewari from Anandpur Sahib, Naku Nath from Chhindwara, Raj Babbar from Fatehpur Sikri, Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli.
Smriti Irani leading in Amethi, Rahul Gandhi trailing
BJP in the lead, Congress trailing in the country
Krishna Poonia trailing in Jaipur rural.
Congress Results: Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi leading in Wayanad, Raebareli
Rahul Gandhi leading in Kerala's Wayanad, mother Sonia Gandhi leading in UP bastion Raebareli
Rahul Gandhi leading in Amethi
Rahul Gandhi takes the lead in UP bastion Amethi after trailing for a while.
Election Results 2019: Congress lagging behind BJP in home turf Amethi:BJP is leading in Congress bastion Amethi from where Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is contesting. His opponent in Union Minister Smriti Irani.
Ajay Maken, the Congress party candidate from New Delhi parliamentary constituency, said that Rahul Gandhi will be the next prime minister of the country.
"The results will be definitely in favour of Congress. We are expecting that Congress will win and form the government. Rahul Gandhi will be the PM. The fight in Delhi is between BJP and Congress," Mr Maken told ANI.
Pitted against BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi, Maken is eyeing to wrestle back the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat, which he lost to Lekhi in 2014 general elections.
Congress leading in 82 seats in Congress, BJP in 187.
Congress results: Close competition in Maharashtra
BJP-Shiv Sena, Congress-NCP neck to neck in Maharashtra, both leading in 9 seats each
Congress lagging behind BJP in early counting:
Congress leading in 59 seats as compared to BJP's 151
EARLY LEADS ARE IN
Congress gains in Dakshina Kannada.
Counting of votes for the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections have begun across the country.
The counting exercise is on in over 4,000 counting centres amid concerns raised by opposition parties over alleged tampering of EVMs. They have asked the Election Commission to ensure transparency in counting.
Election Commission officials said results are expected only by late evening.
The fate of as many as 8,040 candidates will be decided today as the counting of votes begins now to elect the 17th Lok Sabha.
Exit polls have predicted that the Congress will crash out in the three heartland states - Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh -- it won in December last year. In all three states, the party would not win more than 13 seats, an aggregate of exit polls predicted on Sunday.
Counting of votes will begin at 8am today.
Rahul Gandhi also put up a tweet asking Congress workers to not be "afraid"
"The next 24 hours are important. Be alert and vigilant. Don't be afraid. You are fighting for the truth. Don't be disheartened by what the fake exit polls are propagating. Have faith in yourselves and the Congress. Your hard work will not be in vain, Jai Hindi," Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.
Priyanka Gandhra Vadra urged Congress workers to remain alert amid "exit poll rumours"
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the UP Congress general secretary had said in a message to party workers after exit polls, that they should not fall for "rumours" intended to make them drop their guard ahead of the counting of votes. The exit polls had predicted a 122 seat for Congress and its allies.
"My dear Congress workers, sisters and brothers... Don't let rumours and exit polls discourage you. This is being done just to break your determination. It is very important that you remain alert amid all this. Please continue to keep vigil outside strongrooms and counting centres. We are confident that our combined efforts will bear fruit," she said in the audio message.
The Congress, that only got 44 seats in the 2014 general elections, won the Assembly polls in three Hindi heartland states - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The exit polls have predicted 122 seats for Congress and its allies.