The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of People, is the lower house of India’s bicameral parliament and plays a key role in governing the country. With 543 seats up for grabs, Lok Sabha elections are crucial as they determine the composition of the central government and set the direction for the country’s policy and legislative agenda.

Phases of the election

India’s 18th Lok Sabha elections were held in seven stages from April 19 to June 1, 2024.

The first phase on April 19th saw voting in 87 constituencies spread across 20 states and union territories. The subsequent phases followed a similar pattern with polling dates spread out over a month. Phase II on April 26th covered 89 constituencies in 13 states. The number of constituencies increased slightly for Phase III (May 7th) with 94 constituencies across 12 states.

Phase IV (May 13th) saw polling in 96 constituencies in 10 states. The remaining phases focused on fewer constituencies each. Phase V (May 20th) had 49 constituencies in 8 states, followed by Phase VI (May 25th) with 57 constituencies in 7 states. The final Phase VII on June 1st which concluded the elections with voting in 57 constituencies across 8 states.

Parties and Alliances formed for the election

The two principal alliances in the 2024 Indian general elections formed are, the officeholder National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A). Competing in the elections are six national parties: the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Indian National Congress (INC), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the National People’s Party (NPP), and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The National Democratic Alliance, or NDA, is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Meanwhile, 26 political parties have united to establish a new coalition, the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A). In contrast, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) under the leadership of Mayawati announced that the BSP will independently contest the elections and will form alliances with other non-BJP, non-Congress parties in Telangana and Haryana.

Parties Manifesto

Bharatiya Janata Party-

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) introduced a ‘GYAN’ formula in its manifesto, targeting four key segments: Garib (poor), Yuva (youth), Annadata (farmers), and Nari (women). The party launched a campaign to collect public recommendations and suggestions to further the progress of the State and the nation. These inputs will be integrated into the party’s manifesto, known as ‘Modi ki guarantee,’ for the general elections of 2024.

Key points in the BJP’s manifesto include, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which pledges to ensure women’s representation in state legislatures and national leadership through systematic implementation. The Lakhpati Didi scheme under which 30,000,000 rural women are being empowered to become “Lakhpati Didi’s”. Further, under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, the BJP announced that it would give 800,000,000 citizens free rations for the next five years. An increase in the MSP’s of crops was pledged in the manifesto- 6,000 rupees in annual financial support under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana.

Under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana’s free power for low-income homes was another pledge in the manifesto. And, in the PM Housing Scheme, the BJP manifesto pledges to build 30,000,000 houses, people with disabilities will now be given priority, and care will be taken to make sure they are housed in accordance with their unique requirements.

BJP pledges to enact laws to stop the leak of competitive test question papers. Increase the startup ecosystem’s reach to encourage youth entrepreneurship. Expanding job prospects in the manufacturing sector. Creating jobs through the development of infrastructure and through growing the tourism industry.

It also promises the Construction of modern buildings with facilities which allows truck drivers to rest, park, and have access to clean drinking water and food on all national highways

Further, in its pronouncement, or Sankalp Patra, the BJP includes “One nation, One election” for the elections. This also implies to the simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and all the state assemblies that may take place in 2029. The manifesto also proposes the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

It includes the Ayushman Bharat Yojana which will extend eligibility to all senior citizens for free, high-quality healthcare coverage up to Rs 5 Lakhs.

The BJP further commits to lifting India’s GDP to US$5 trillion by 2025 and to $10 trillion by 2032. The Ministry of Finance forecasts India to be the third-largest economy globally. Previously, in 2018 and 2019, Modi had announced ambitions for India to achieve a GDP of US$5 trillion by 2022 and 2024, goals which were not met.

India is committed to securing a permanent membership in the UN Security Council and is projected to become the third-largest economy, having ascended from the 11th to the 5th largest GDP over the past decade.

Indian National Congress-

The Indian National Congress unveiled its manifesto, “Nyaya Patra,” outlining key pledges such as providing formal employment for a year to graduates under 25, filling 3 million government job vacancies, ensuring transparency in government job recruitment, establishing a ₹5,000 crore (US$605,000) fund for startups, standardizing the government recruitment exam process, and offering social security for gig workers.

The manifesto promises ₹100,000 in financial aid to women from impoverished families, allocating 50% of new government job positions to women, doubling the central government’s contribution to the salaries of anganwadi, ASHA, and midday meal workers, providing legal assistance in every panchayat, and establishing at least one hostel for working women in every district headquarters.

It guarantees a legal minimum support price for farmers, loan waivers, a favorable import-export policy, the removal of GST on agricultural commodities, and direct payments into farmers’ accounts within 30 days in case of crop loss.

The manifesto includes universal healthcare coverage for workers, raising the national minimum wage to ₹400 (US$4.8) per day from ₹172 (US$2.1), an urban employment guarantee law akin to the rural MGNREGA, and life and accident insurance for informal sector workers. If victorious in the elections, the Congress party plans to conduct a comprehensive census to assess the population, socio-economic conditions, and representation in governance institutions.

It also aims to introduce legislation to remove the 50% cap on reservations for SC, ST, and backward classes and to safeguard tribal forest rights. Rahul Gandhi’s principle of “jitni abadi, utna haq” (as much right as the population) echoes through the manifesto, alongside the collective demands of opposition parties (SP, RJD, and Congress) for a caste census.

Polls Prediction for the election

The exit polls had predicted a historic win, a third term for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led NDA Alliance. The News18 Mega Exit polls proposed that the BJP is likely to win a lion’s share with 305 to 315 seats, whereas Congress might secure over 62-72 seats. Concurring to the forecasts, the NDA will accomplish triumph in the Lok Sabha surveys by winning 355 to 370 seats, while the Opposition-led INDIA coalition will win 125 to 140 seats.

Results

In the 18th common Lok Sabha election of the nation, the individuals chose the NDA government. The NDA government has effectively overseen to win 292 seats out of the add up to 543 parliamentary seats in the nation. This is twenty seats more than the required seats for the larger part.

Bharatiya Janata Party BJP has won 240 seats, which is once more noteworthy than the add up to number of seats won by the I.N.D.I.A alliance together. Despite the fact that BJP alone has won more seats than the I.N.D.I.A Collusion, it is not qualified to frame an autonomous government alone this time. Therefore, other parties like TDP (Telugu Desham Party) and JDU (Janata dal united), etc., have appeared their back to PM Modi, and BJP is going to frame an NDA government with this coalition.

The I.N.D.I.A alliance together has demonstrated the exit surveys comes about off-base by winning a add up to of 232 seats. This appears that the resistance union has worked well on its techniques and have had a successful and impactful impression on the voters, which made a difference them to win these of Lok Sabha seats. Congress, who has won 99 seats, appears to have got restored again.

It is to be noticed that BJP couldn’t get 370 or more seats for itself and the same is for NDA which seem not cross the edge of 400 seats, but PM Narendra Modi is once more going to be the Prime minister of India in 2024, it is likely that PM Modi will take pledge on Thursday, 6 June 2024.

Aftermath the results

The election results came as a stun to Prime Minister Modi, as the BJP did not meet its target of 400 seats, as pre-poll forecasts predicting a dominant majority for the BJP, the INDIA bloc outperformed exit poll expectations, securing surprising victories in key states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and West Bengal. Further, while addressing the followers, Prime Minister Modi had said that the NDA would form a third government.

The leaders of Bhutan, Italy, Israel, Iran, Nepal, Maldives, Mauritius, Barbados, Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Ukraine extended their congratulations to Narendra Modi and the BJP on their electoral success.

Additionally, the Indian stock markets crashed on the day the results were declared.

Summary

The 2024 Indian elections concluded with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) set to form the government with 294 seats, while the opposition INDIA bloc secured 232 seats. Despite maintaining a majority, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) experienced a significant setback, falling short of a solo majority with 240 seats and relying on allies like the TDP and JD(U) to surpass the 272-seat threshold needed to govern.

The Congress party however, made notable gains, securing 99 seats, and the Samajwadi Party (SP) performed impressively in Uttar Pradesh, increasing their count from 5 to 37 seats. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won 29 and 22 seats respectively, while the NCP and Shiv Sena also made contributions to the INDIA bloc’s tally.

The BJP’s vote share declined slightly, and while it failed to win any seats in Tamil Nadu, it opened its account in Kerala for the first time and improved its performance in Telangana.